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IOWA BIOGRAPHICAL SEEIES 

EDITED BY BENJAMIN F. SHAMBAUGH 



SAMUEL JORDAN KIRKWOOD 




SA.M IKL .1 . KIKKW Oolt 



IOWA BIOGRAPHICAL SERIES 

EDITED BY BENJAMIN F. SHAMBAUGH 



SAMUEL JORDAN KIRKWOOD 

BY 
DAN ELBERT CLARK 



\y Vl V i)'^' 



THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA 

IOWA CITY IOWA 1917 



Collected set. 



E507 



0, of D. 
NOV 21 1917 



EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION 

Samuel J. Kirkwood is one of the out- 
standing figures in the political history of 
Iowa. Familiarly called the ''War Gov- 
ernor", his name is perhaps more widely 
known than that of any other man in the 
annals of this Commonwealth. He was a 
pioneer, a westerner, a man of common 
sense and of decision. In his life and ideas 
he typifies much that is characteristic of the 
pioneer period in the history of Iowa. 

Benj. F. Shambaugh 

Office of the Superintendent and Editor 

The State Historical Society of Iowa 

Iowa City Iowa 



AUTHOR'S PREFACE 

Tpie life of Samuel Jordan Kirkwood is a part 
of the history of three Commonwealths. His 
boyhood and youth were spent in Maryland. 
In Ohio from 1835 to 1855 he practiced law, 
became prosecuting attorney of Richland Coun- 
ty, and served in the convention which revised 
the State Constitution. Coming to Iowa at a 
time of great political upheaval, he was soon 
elected State Senator, and in 1860 was elevated 
to the position of Chief Executive. Subse- 
quently he was United States Senator and 
Secretary of the Interior. But it is his service 
as the "War Governor" of Iowa from 1860 to 
1864 that gives his name an assured place on 
the honor roll of the State and Nation. 

In the pages which follow an attempt has 
been made to tell the story of Governor Kirk- 
wood's life as far as possible by the use of his 
own letters and papers and those of his contem- 
poraries. Hence the frequent quotations. This 
plan has been made possible by the great abun- 
dance of material. In fact, the problem with 
regard to sources was largely one of selection. 



/ 



X AUTHOR'S PREFACE 

The manuscript sources are voluminous. 
Seven large Military Letter-Books for the Civil 
War period and three letter-books for the time 
when Kirkwood was Secretary of the Interior 
are in the possession of The State Historical 
Society of Iowa at Iowa City. In the Historical 
Department at Des Moines there is a large col- 
lection of letters written to Kirkwood, covering 
the period between 1850 and 1890. The Public 
Archives at Des Moines likewise contain a great 
mass of material bearing on his administrations 
as Governor. The printed sources are no less 
plentiful, as is indicated in the Notes and Ref- 
erences at the close of the volume. It was of 
interest to the writer that most of the printed 
sources which he used were copies of books and 
pamphlets donated to The State Historical So- 
ciety of Iowa by Mr. Kirkwood and bearing his 
name. 

Special mention should be made of The Life 
and Times of Samuel J. Kirkwood, by Mr. 
Henry W. Lathrop, published in 1893. The 
manuscript of this volume was read and ap- 
proved by Mr. Kirkwood before it was sent to 
the printer. Mr. Lathrop 's work was therefore 
of no little assistance to the writer. 

Among the persons to whom the writer is 



AUTHOR'S PREFACE xi 

indebted for help and information, his gratitude 
is first of all due to Mrs. Kirkwood, who is still 
living in the old home at Iowa City. Although 
nearly one hundred years of age her memory is 
remarkably keen and trustworthy. She gener- 
ously placed valuable materials at the writer's 
disposal and furnished much personal informa- 
tion concerning her husband elsewhere un- 
available. 

The writing of this volume was suggested by 
the editor of the series, Dr. Benj. F. Sham- 
baugh. To him the writer is under obligation, 
not only for his careful editing of the manu- 
script, but also for advice and encouragement 
throughout the preparation of the book. Miss 
Ruth Gallaher of the staff of The State His- 
torical Society assisted in verifying the manu- 
script. Acknowledgments are due to Mr. Edgar 
R. Harlan, Curator of the Historical Depart- 
ment of Iowa, for facilitating the writer's re- 
searches in the materials at Des Moines. 

Dan Elbert Claek 

The State Historical Society of Iowa 
Iowa City Iowa 



CONTENTS 



I. Boyhood and Youth in Maryland 

AND Washington City .... 1 
II, Westward over the Cumberland 

Road 11 

III. First Years in Richland County . 19 

IV. jVIember of the Mansfield Bar . . 32 
V. The Ohio Constitutional Conven- 
tion at Columbus 47 

VI. Constitution-making in Cincinnati 65 

VII. Removal to Iov^^a 75 

VIII. Miller and Farmer 81 

IX. The Sixth General Assembly . . 90 
X. In the Senate at the New Seat 

OF Government 100 

XI. Director of the State Bank of Iowa 116 
XII. KiRKwooD Against Dodge .... 123 

XIII. First Inaugural 144 

XIV. Governor During a Year of Peace 155 
XV. The Crisis 173 

XVI. Men and Arms 181 

XVII. A War-time Political Campaign . 195 

XVIII. The First Year of the War . . .206 

XIX. ^Message and Inaugural of 1862 . . 220 

xiii 



XIV 

XX. 
XXI. 

XXII. 

XXIII. 

XXIV. 

XXV. 

XXVI. 

XXVII. 

XXVIII. 

XXIX. 

XXX. 

XXXI. 

XXXII. 



CONTENTS 

The Governor and his Soldiers . . 230 
The Altoona Meeting of Loyal 

Governors 247 

Border Defense 253 

Fire in the Rear 262 

Politics and Prospects 279 

The Life of a War Governor . . . 292 
A Short Term as Senator .... 301 
Lawyer and Railroad President . 318 
Governor Against his Will . . . 328 
Senator in his Own Right .... 341 
Secretary of the Interior . . . 359 
Last Participation in Politics . . 371 

The Closing Years 379 

Notes and References 391 

Index 449 



Boyhood and Youth in Maryland and 
Washington City 

The War of 1812 was at its height when on 
December 20, 1813, there was born on a Mary- 
land farm in the county of Harford a boy to 
whom was given the name of Samuel Jordan 
Kirkw^ood. Harford County, lying to the north- 
w^est of the head of Chesapeake Bay and west of 
the Susquehanna River and bordering on the 
Pennsylvania line, was not so far from scenes 
of hostility as to leave the inhabitants long in 
undisturbed peace of mind. As a matter of 
fact, in the spring of 1813 Havre de Grace, the 
principal coast town of the county, was the ob- 
ject of attack by British ships; while the late 
summer of the following year witnessed the 
destructive raid of the English through Balti- 
more to Washington City, not far to the south- 
ward. 

The name Kirkwood was not unknown along 
the coast. Samuel's ancestors had come to this 
country in 1731 from Londonderry in the 
northern part of Ireland,^ and found for them- 
selves a home in New Castle, Delaware.^ Here 

2 1 



2 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

the family was living when the Revolutionary 
War broke out, and one Robert Kirkwood^ en- 
listed and became a captain in the only regi- 
ment of troops furnished by Delaware, "The 
remnant of that corps, less than two companies, 
from the battle of Camden, was commanded by 
captain Kirkwood, who passed through the war 
with high reputation; and yet as the line of 
Delaware consisted but of one regiment, and 
that regiment was reduced to a captain's com- 
mand, Kirkwood never could be promoted in 
regular routine. . . . Kirkwood retired, 
upon peace, a captain; and when the army 
imder St. Clair was raised to defend the West 
from the Indian enemy, this veteran resumed 
his sword as the eldest captain of the oldest 
regiment." In the memorable defeat of St. 
Clair's army on November 4, 1791, Robert 
Kirkwood fell bravely fighting to avert what he 
must have known to be an inevitable disaster.^ 
Another Robert Kirkwood,^ the grandfather 
of Samuel, apparently became a well-to-do 
land owner, for he was able to start each of his 
five sons out in life with a goodly farm. To 
Jabez, the youngest son, born in 1776, he gave 
the quarter section of land in Harford County, 
Maryland, which was Samuel's birthplace. 
Jabez Kirkwood 's first wife was Mary Coulson; 
and to them were born two sons, Robert and 
Coulson. But she died before many years, and 



BOYHOOD AND YOUTH 3 

Jabez later married a widow named Wallace — 
a Scotch woman whose husband, a sea captain, 
had one day sailed for England and had never 
more been hoard from. The children of this 
union were three sons, John, Wallace, and 
Samuel Jordan.*^ 

On the Maryland farm Jabez Kirkwood made 
a comfortable living. The rather small, two- 
story log house, with its generous, old fashioned 
fire-place which had been built shortly before 
the Revolution, had received a substantial 
frame addition before Samuel's advent.'^ Set 
on rising ground amid a small grove of trees it 
was clearly the home of a family able financially 
to enjoy at least the simple comforts of life. 
Possibly, however, the father could not have 
provided thus well for his family but for the 
fact that he was a blacksmith as well as a 
farmer. The blacksmith of that day was an 
important individual in any community, for 
many of the tools used on the farm and in the 
house were then the products of the smith's 
handicraft. The iron work of plows, chains, 
axes, knives, chisels, hay forks, nails, and many 
other articles were thus made. Jabez Kirk- 
wood therefore found work to occupy much of 
his time at the forge ; and to the older boys was 
left the management of the farm. 

Thus the boyhood of Samuel Kirkwood was 
not overshadowed by the meagerness of oppor- 



4 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

tunity which fell to the lot of so many who later 
attained prominence in public life. At the same 
time the economy of farm life at that day was 
extremely simple, even in the homes of the pros- 
perous. Boiling, frying, baking, and roasting 
— all the operations of cooking — were done at 
the huge open fire-place, which was so large as 
''to use in one day wood enough to last a cook 
stove a whole week. "^ Within the home wool 
was carded, spun, and woven, and later made 
into clothing for the family — either by mem- 
bers of the family or by someone hired for the 
purpose. The shoemaker, likewise, made the 
round of the homes and, sitting in the kitchen 
with his kit of tools at hand, made all the shoes 
needed by members of the family. The days 
for going barefooted began as early as possible 
in the spring and extended oftentimes later 
than was comfortable into the fall, because it 
was sometimes late when the shoemaker ar- 
rived. Indeed, Samuel as a boy frequently 
''stood on the warm spots where the cows had 
lain over night to warm his toes chilled by the 
ungenerous frost", when he was sent to drive 
up the animals for the morning milking.'' 

Since there were no girls in the family the 
lad doubtless ran more errands about the house 
and farm than did most boys, but he was not 
too early pressed into service unsuited to his 
years. In fact, his parents, both members of 



BOYHOOD AND YOUTH 5 

tlie Presbyterian Cliiircli, in wliich the father 
was an elder, were firm believers in the virtues 
of education. And so, at a very early age he 
was sent to school in the log schoolhouse, with 
its oiled paper windows and split-log seats and 
desks, which stood on the corner of the Kirk- 
wood farm. So anxious were his parents that 
he should be regularly in his place that he was 
frequently carried to school on the backs of his 
older brothers. Until he was ten years old he 
attended this country school, making such ad- 
vancement that he was able to cipher as far as 
the "rule of three", an accomplishment which 
"in those days was deemed creditable in a 
youth of fifteen. "10 

Then at the age of ten the scenes of the boy's 
life were shifted and he found himself, not at 
home with his parents on a quiet Maryland 
farm, but almost alone among strangers amid 
the disconcerting noise and activity of the cap- 
ital city of the Nation. It happened in this 
wise. Twenty-five years before, in 1798, one 
John McLeod, a man of some education, came 
to America from Ireland, which was then in the 
throes of a revolution, and engaged in teaching 
as a means of gaining a livelihood. In time he 
met, wooed and married a Miss Coulson, a 
sister of Mary Coulson who was Jabez Kirk- 
wood's first wife. In this way the two men 
became brothers-in-law and friends. Later 



6 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

John McLeod established a private school in 
Washington, D. C, engaging as an assistant his 
nephew, Robert Kirkwood, who was Samuel's 
elder half-brother. During vacations and at 
other times McLeod often found it pleasant to 
visit the family of his brother-in-law in Har- 
ford County; and perhaps he saw latent possi- 
bilities in the bright lad who was making such 
commendable progress in his studies in the log 
schoolhouse. At any rate in 1823, when he had 
practically mastered the curriculum of the 
home school, it was decided that Samuel should 
go to Washington and study under the tutelage 
of John McLeod and Robert Kirkwood. 

It is not difficult to imagine the eagerness 
mingled with timidity with which the ten-year- 
old boy made the journey to the city and took 
up his abode with his half-brother. It was at 
the close of President Monroe's administration; 
and the national capital was not at that time 
by any means the beautiful city of which 
Americans to-day are rightfully proud. But to 
a boy all seemed wonderful. While he was too 
young to understand or be interested in politics 
and national affairs, just to catch an occasional 
glimpse of the President and other public men 
whose names were household words was enough 
to give zest to life. And so Samuel came as a 
lad to the seat of government of the Nation 
where later in life he was to sit for a time in 
high positions. 



BOYHOOD AND YOUTH 7 

Four years were spent at McLeod's school, 
with the result that Kirkwood secured a good 
grounding in the English classics and learned 
to read Latin and Greek so well that he never 
entirely lost the proficiency thus gained. Pub- 
lic speaking also received emphasis in that 
school, and thus at an early age the boy began 
to acquire experience as a speaker that later 
stood him in good stead. 

In 1827, when he was fourteen years of age, 
Samuel's mother died; and he remained for a 
time at home to be with his father and help him 
with the work. But it was not long before he 
was back again in Washington — this time not 
as a pupil but as a clerk in a drug store kept 
by one Patrick Leyne. During the time when 
he was thus occupied he was not intellectually 
idle; for, stimulated perhaps in part by the 
training received in McLeod's school and partly 
by the brilliant debates in Congress, he and 
some of his youthful associates formed a liter- 
ary or debating society. The sessions of this 
society, at first private, were later opened to 
visitors ; and here, sometimes in the presence of 
a considerable audience, the members of the 
organization developed their talents for public 
speaking. The inauguration of President 
Jackson was the great public event of this 
period which stood out in Samuel's memory. 

After performing the duties of a drug clerk 



8 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

for about a year Samuel, now seventeen years 
of age, decided to put his education to more 
practical use by teaching- a country school. 
The school in question was in York County, 
Pennsylvania, just across the historic State line 
from his home in Harford County. Here he 
was welcomed to the home of his Aunt Sarah — 
his father's only sister — and here he was able 
to pay for his board by doing chores about the 
place mornings and evenings. At the conclu- 
sion of the term of school he removed to another 
neighborhood not far away and there estab- 
lished a ''subscription school" — one of his pu- 
pils being his cousin, Daniel Kirkwood, who la- 
ter attained eminence as an astronomer. Here 
he had no fixed abode, but "boarded around" 
among the patrons of his school. 

But teaching was not altogether to the liking 
of the young man, and so after this second 
school was closed he was glad to accept an offer 
to return to Washington and to the position of 
drug clerk, this time in the store owned by his 
brother Wallace at the corner of Pennsylvania 
Avenue and Eleventh Street. To a youth of 
his age and intelligence life at the capital 
must now have proved intensely interesting. 
Men were still talking about Webster's reply 
to Hayne ; and not long afterward the stormy 
episode of nullification furnished no little ex- 
citement. Many a time young Kirkwood sat in 



BOYHOOD AND YOUTH 9 

the gallery and listened to the impassioned 
speeches of the great men who then occupied 
seats in the halls of Congress. ^^ 

He was not, however, so engrossed in public 
and business affairs as to forego, the pleasures 
to be found in the society of the young people 
of his acquaintance; nor was he insensible to 
the charms of the opposite sex. About this 
time he began the keeping of what for want of 
a better name might be called an autograph al- 
bum. In it were inscribed, most often in a dis- 
tinctly feminine hand, verses chiefly sentimen- 
tal in character and signed by the initials of 
the friends who thus expressed their wishes to 
be remembered in later years. Kirkwood like- 
wise displayed his own leaning toward the 
poetic expression of tender sentiments by copy- 
ing into this album selections from such writers 
as Byron and Thomas Moore and from the cur- 
rent periodicals and newspapers of the day. 
And occasionally he even ventured to try his 
own powers in the gentle art of verse-making.^- 

But events were now shaping themselves 
toward a momentous change in the young man's 
environment and outlook on life. For two or 
three years he remained in his brother's em- 
ploy, and then returned home, where before long 
he learned of his father's decision to move west. 
To the Kirkwood family had come the call 
that has lured so many of our people to follow 



10 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

in successive generations the sunset trail to the 
West. The Kirkwoods, however, were never 
pioneers of the pioneers : they belonged rather 
in the ranks of those who came in after the land 
had been well spied out to assist in its real and 
permanent development. 



II 

Westward Over the Cumberland Road 

The reasons which caused Jabez Kirkwood to 
seek a new home in the West were not altogether 
of his own making, nor did they spring prima- 
rily from any yearning for an abode in a place 
less densely peopled. Financial embarrassment 
was the real cause of his decision, for he had 
been the victim of misplaced generosity and of 
later misfortune. First, he had furnished 
security for a friend, a merchant, who desired to 
borrow a considerable sum of money. In time 
the friend failed in business, thereby shifting to 
the shoulders of his bondsman such a burden 
that nearly all of Kirkwood 's accumulated sav- 
ings were swept away and he was left with little 
more than the farm with which he had started. 
Rallying from this severe blow, he turned to 
raising fine horses for the Baltimore market — 
a business that offered large returns. Success in 
this undertaking was just beginning to replen- 
ish the empty family treasury when there sud- 
denly came another calamity: a fatal disease 
broke out among his horses and when it had run 

11 



12 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

its course scarcely one out of a goodly herd 
was left alive. ^'^ 

To a man who was nearing three score years 
these reverses of fortune could have been little 
less than disheartening. The soil on a portion 
of the Maryland farm had long since become so 
exhausted that it had been allowed to lie uncul- 
tivated;^^ while the patronage of country black- 
smiths had greatly diminished as more and more 
manufactured tools and iron articles came into 
use. The prospect of again accumulating a 
comfortable competency in the home where he 
had lived so long seemed small indeed. And 
so, in the year 1835, at the age of fifty-nine, 
Jabez Kirkwood turned his face toward the 
West — the land of new hope for myriads of 
discouraged men — and determined to seek a 
more favorable home in the State of Ohio. 

After disposing of his property, the elder 
Kirkwood secured the necessary equipment for 
the four hundred mile overland journey.^^ A 
large, strong wagon was procured, possibly of 
the type called "mountain ship", with broad- 
tired wheels, curved bottom, and white canvas 
cover.^^ Into this vehicle were loaded all of 
the goods which the family could take, and to 
it were hitched as many horses as were neces- 
sary to haul it to its destination. Then the 
emigrants — consisting of Jabez Kirkwood and 
certain of his sons including Samuel — bade 



OVER THE CUMBERLAND ROAD 13 

farewell to the Harford County home ; the word 
was given to the horses, and the heavy wagon 
rolled out on the road that led westward. 

From Baltimore there was a much traveled 
thoroughfare extending to the northwestward. 
After a space it joined another highway coming 
up from Alexandria and Washington City to 
the south ; and thence followed very closely the 
path marked many years before by the ill-fated 
Braddock through forests and mountains until 
at last it emerged at Cumberland in the western 
end of the State.^" Marylanders bound for the 
Ohio Valley in 1835 found this road to be the 
best and most direct. Hence it would be natu- 
ral for the Kirkwood party to prefer as soon as 
possible to strike this well-known highw^ay rath- 
er than to seek their way over less frequented 
roads. But by w^hatever route they traveled 
they at last found themselves at the town of 
Cumberland on the Potomac, the eastern termi- 
nus of the great Cumberland or National Road 
which ''carried thousands of population and 
millions of wealth into the West ; and more than 
any other material structure in the land, served 
to harmonize and strengthen, if not save, the 
Union. "^^ 

The Cumberland Eoad in those days was no 
mere wilderness trail through an uninhabited 
country. It was a highway the like of which 
was never again built in America until the auto- 



14 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

mobile worked a revolution in the character of 
the roads. Stretching like a ribbon from the 
Potomac through Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indi- 
ana, it eventually reached the banks of the 
Mississippi ; and throughout the greater part of 
this distance it was macadamized with a surface 
of crushed stone several inches thick. "Leaping 
the Ohio at Wheeling", the road extended 
"across Ohio and Indiana, straight as an arrow, 
like an ancient elevated pathway of the gods, 
chopping hills in twain at a blow, traversing 
the lowlands on high grades like a railroad 
bed, vaulting river and stream on massive 
bridges of unparalleled size."^'' 

Nor did the traveler over this highway suffer 
from loneliness : at least in Pennsylvania and 
Ohio the National Road was a busy thorough- 
fare. It was traversed by regular stage lines 
carrying mail and passengers, both local and 
long distance, to and from the West in gaily 
decorated and richly upholstered coaches. Hea- 
vy freighters, drawn by six or eight horses, 
carried the manufactured goods of the East to 
the growing settlements in the Ohio Valley, and 
returned laden with the produce of western 
farms. Emigrants by the thousands also trav- 
eled over the road to find new homes in the 
West. Farmers hauled their wheat or corn or 
tobacco or drove large herds of cattle or hogs 
along the road to eastern markets. And finally, 



OVER THE CUMBERLAND ROAD 15 

the traveler along the National Road might 
expect to meet persons of note riding in stylish 
conveyances — capitalists, literary lights, Con- 
gressmen, and even the President of the United 
States.2« 

Along this lively roadway Jabez Kirkwood 
and his sons journeyed after leaving the town 
of Cumberland on the Potomac. At first the 
road wound upward toward the west through 
the rugged, mountainous country of western 
Maryland. Then, finding a pass between the 
hills it turned into Pennsylvania, crossing the 
first westward-flowing water — the Youghio- 
gheny River — at the town of Somerfield. A 
short distance further to the northwest the road 
passed close by the grave of General Braddock, 
the man who had blazed the trail which had now 
grown into a great highway. Thence, descend- 
ing gradually into the fertile, smiling valley of 
the Monongahela, crossing the ponderous stone 
bridge at Big Crossings (now Smithfield), and 
passing through Uniontown, the route led at 
length to Brownsville, the village on the Monon- 
gahela River which in early years had attained 
prominence under the name of Redstone Old 
Fort. Crossing the river at this historic point 
the thoroughfare ran through the prosperous 
farms of Washington County across the West 
Virginia line to Wheeling, whence after cross- 



16 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

ing the Ohio it continued its way almost in a 
direct line to the westward.^ ^ 

How the Kirkwood party fared on the jour- 
ney, whether they put up at night in taverns or 
in less pretentious road-houses which lined the 
way or slept in the open in the shelter of their 
wagon, how long they were on the road — all 
these and other details which would be of inter- 
est must be left to the imagination. Only one 
incident of the long trip apparently remained 
firmly fixed in the memory of the youngest mem- 
ber of the party. All the money belonging to 
the family had been put in a common purse and 
entrusted to the care of John, the oldest son. 
One morning upon arising and preparing for 
another day's travel it was discovered to their 
great consternation that the bag of money was 
missing. Here, indeed, was a pretty situation ! 
Not only had they lost their small accumulations 
with which they had planned to buy land and 
the things necessary to set up a new home, but 
even on the Cumberland Road they could not 
travel far without at least a little money. There 
were tolls to pay and they must have food for 
themselves and their horses. Robbery of course 
was feared, but nevertheless a diligent search 
was made. The contents of the wagon were 
feverishly ransacked, but to no avail. At length 
the precious bag was found in the very bottom 
of the wagon, where it had fallen through the 



OVER THE CUMBERLAND ROAD 17 

chinks between the articles which made up the 
load.-" It is needless to say that thereafter 
the purse was guarded with even more jealous 
care. 

Doubtless Jabez Kirkwood and his sons had 
already definitely determined upon the region 
where they would seek for land. In 1835 the 
country in north-central Ohio, somewhat back 
from the lake and aw^ay from the principal 
lines of travel, still offered better opportuni- 
ties to settlers than were to be found in the more 
developed portions of the State. To reach this 
region the Kirkwoods would have the clioTce of 
at least two well-defined courses after crossing" 
the Ohio Eiver at Wheeling. From Bridgeport, 
across the river from Wheeling, there was a 
road running to the northwest through Cadiz 
and New Philadelphia to Wooster; and thence 
another road led westward to Mansfield in the 
heart of the region toward which the travelers 
w^ere wending their way. Or they might pro- 
ceed along the National Road across the State 
of Ohio until they reached a point about midway 
between Zanesville and Columbus, where they 
would strike a road running north through 
Newark and Mt. Vernon to Mansfield.-'^ 

Although there is no way of telling which of 
these two routes the Kirkwoods adopted, they 
found themselves in Richland County, where the 
father w^as to spend the remainder of his days, 



18 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

and where Samuel was to live for twenty years 
— years which gave to him the maturity and 
wide experience which fitted him later to assume 
a position of leadership in another western 
Commonwealth. 



Ill 

First Years in Richland County 

Richland County, Ohio, had long ceased to be 
a frontier region before the Kirkwoods arrived : 
it was a well settled community in which nearly 
all the public land had been taken up and cov- 
ered with prosperous farm homes. Indeed, the 
population of the county in 1835 must have 
been upwards of thirty thousand, for this was 
the period of the flood tide of emigration to 
Ohio.-^ Along the forks of the Mohican there 
were settlements as early as the year 1809, and 
during the following years there poured in a 
stream of pioneers, chiefly from Pennsylvania. 
Of these early settlers some were of German 
origin, while large numbers were Scotch-Irish 
Presbyterians ;2^ and thus it goes without say- 
ing that they were a thrifty lot. At the same 
time it was remarked that the inhabitants were 
somewhat ''behind the age in enterprise and 
public spirit", the assigned reason being that 
they lived so far ' ' distant from any of the public 
improvements of the day". But in 1837 it was 
predicted that this handicap would soon be 
removed by the building of railroads and 

19 



20 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

canals, several of which were even then pro- 
jected.- ° 

The character of the soil was indicated by the 
name of the county. Its surface was gently 
rolling, though in the southern part it might be 
called hilly; and throughout its length and 
breadth there was scarcely any waste land. 
Wheat, at that time the principal agricultural 
product, was manufactured into flour within the 
county and hauled overland to Lake Erie or to 
the Erie and Ohio Canal, whence it was shipped 
by boat to eastern markets. During the grain- 
hauling season ' ' the highway was often blocked 
with long trains of wagons that would not give 
way for other vehicles. At night the wagons 
would be parked on the roadside near a creek, 
and the farmers and their boys would have a 
regular joyous picnic on provisions brought 
from home." The county was "also famed for 
its fine horses and neat cattle."-'^ 

It was in the hilly region in the southern part 
of the county, sixteen or seventeen miles by 
road southeast from Mansfield, the county seat 
and principal town, that the Kirkwoods halted. 
The father soon afterward filed on eighty acres 
of wild government land which was covered 
with a dense growth of timber; while John 
bought an adjoining quarter section scarcely 
less in readiness for cultivation. On John's 
land there was a log cabin in the midst of a 



IN RICHLAND COUNTY 21 

small clearing- — the work no doubt of a pioneer 
of the type that could not abide close neighbors 
and soon pressed on again to the frontier, 
selling his claim for what he could get. Into 
this cabin were moved the contents of the 
wagon, and the Kirkwoods entered upon a life 
that was new to them. Not far away was the 
great north and south road from Columbus to 
Cleveland with its busy traffic. Well-improved 
farms were all about them; and it was only 
four or five miles to the post village of Newville, 
where once each week they received their mail. 
In at least two respects, however, they were 
confronted with the conditions of pioneer life : 
practically every foot of their land must be 
subdued and their home was at first as rude and 
primitive as that of the first pathfinder. 

The first years in Ohio, therefore, were years 
of hard toil. To clear heavily-timbered land 
was a task for the strong, and to prepare an 
area large enough to permit of the raising of 
crops worth while meant long and tedious labor. 
The undergrowth must be cleared away and 
burned, the trees felled and disposed of, and 
the stumps blasted and dug out of the ground. 
Eventually, however, some sixty acres were 
cleared and placed under cultivation. Mean- 
while the cabin was improved and made more 
habitable, and a lean-to addition was built in 
the rear to serve as sleeping rooms.-^ The hard 



22 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

times of 1837, which followed the bursting of 
the bubble of land speculation and the partial 
subsidence of the public improvement fever, 
pressed heavily upon the Kirkwoods; but they 
had gained a foothold which they were able to 
maintain through this period of adversity. 

During the winters Samuel earned a little 
ready money by teaching district schools. In 
that part of the country the schoolhouses were 
mostly constructed of logs, but glass had 
replaced oiled paper in the windows and there 
were desks made of rough boards, although the 
seats were likely to be of the old split-log type. 
The wages received by teachers varied from 
eight to ten dollars a month for men, and from 
six to eight dollars for women, though there 
were comparatively few of the latter in those 
days. Of expenses there were almost none, for 
the teacher boarded around in the homes of the 
patrons of the school, staying about a week 
with each family. Nor w^as he an unwelcome 
guest in these homes, for to have the teacher at 
the table and in the family circle around the fire 
during the long winter evenings was a privilege 
much cherished by children and grown-ups 
alike. He was often the sole connecting link 
between the lonely, monotonous routine of farm 
life and the great world of learning. Some- 
times, of course, the teachers by holding aloof 
and "putting on airs" succeeded only in 



IN RICHLAND COUNTY 23 

antagonizing the sturdy, democratic people 
among whom they labored; but Samuel Kirk- 
wood was not of this type. Instead, he was 
able to enter into their lives in such a way as to 
learn much from them while giving of his own 
knowledge.^*^ 

The album of verse, begun in Washington 
City and carried to the new home, received 
numerous additions during these years. New- 
found friends inscribed in it sentiments or 
words of advice; while Samuel wrote lines to 
this or that young lady. But it was not 
maidenly charms alone that inspired him; for 
when he read the famous '^People's Charter" 
drawn up in 1838 by the Chartists in England 
his democratic spirit was deeply stirred, and he 
wrote a poem of which the following are the 
first, fourth, and fifth stanzas: 

What sound comes over the mighty deep? 

Do the fierce, wild winds its bosom sweep? 

Is the Demon of death from his whirhvind car 

Scattering woe and death afar? 

Whence that deep sound ? Does the earthquake shock 

Shiver and scatter the mountain and rock, 

The castle of noble and cottage of swain, 

AHke undistinguished afar on the plain? 

It comes from the land whence sprang our sires, 
Whose hands first kindled those beacon fires, 
Whose broad, bright light by the blessing of Heaven 



24 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

Now reaches the land from which they were driven, 
Has dispelled the deep darkness by tyranny cast 
O'er the souls of men in times long past. 
God grant that its beamings may brighten and spread 
Till no slave stains the earth with his desolate tread. 

They will — aye they must — for that fire from above, 
While fed with the patriots devotion and love. 
Neither princes of earth nor the powers of Hell 
Its light or its increase can darken or quell. 
It will stream to the sky ; 'twill encircle the earth, 
'Twill blaze on the altar, 'twill cheer the rude hearth, 
God's mockers, Earth's Kings, from their proud seats 

be hurl'd. 
And Freedom 's fair sunbeam will gladden the world."^' 

It was while teaching that Kirkwood met and 
became acquainted with Abram Armentroiit, 
the assessor of Richland County, who appar- 
ently took a great liking to the young man. 
The upshot was that in 1840 Samuel was 
appointed as Armentrout's deputy and assigned 
the duty of assessing the property in thirteen 
townships of the county. In performing this 
task he tramped on foot most of the time, going 
from farm to farm, meeting the people and 
learning the extent of their worldly possessions. 
The compensation was one dollar and a half a 
day, a truly munificent sum when compared with 
the wages of a country school teacher; and 
besides, young Kirkwood thus began an ac- 



IN RICHLAND COUNTY 25 

qiiaintance among the inhabitants of the county 
which was helpful to him in later years. 

The work of assessment was completed in due 
time, and then Abram Armentrout had other 
employment to offer his deputy. He had pur- 
chased a store and tavern, evidently at some 
small cross-roads village, possibly at the post 
town of Newville. Here for about a year 
Samuel Kirkwood exchanged merchandise for 
the money and farm produce of the settlers and 
helped minister to the wants of such travelers 
as stopped at the tavern for meals or to pass 
the night.^^ 

But this was not the kind of a life for a young 
man with ambition and a taste for the society 
of keen minds. Neither did school teaching- 
appeal to him as a life work. Farming, while 
reasonably agreeable to him, seemed to lead 
nowhere, since during those years of financial 
stringency he saw no hope of earning sufficient 
money as a farm-hand to buy a farm of his own. 
Soon, however, a way was opened to a career 
which offered many attractions; and so, in the 
year 1841, Kirkwood left the tavern and the 
farm and established himself in the county seat 
town which was to be his home for nearly 
fifteen years. 

Mansfield, the seat of justice of Richland 
County, was beautifully located "upon a com- 
manding elevation, overlooking a country hand- 



26 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

somely disposed in hills and valleys", nearly in 
tlie center of the county.^- Commercially it was 
also well situated, for it was the axis from 
which radiated, like the spokes of a wheel, well 
graded pikes and roads running in all directions 
to the principal towns and cities of the State.^^ 
Seventy miles to the southwest lay Columbus, 
the capital city; while off in the opposite 
direction at about an equal distance was the 
growing lake port of Cleveland at the north end 
of the Erie and Ohio Canal. It only needed a 
canal or, better, a railroad, to make Mansfield 
a place of considerable importance. 

The town, at the time when Kirkwood first 
knew it, contained about fourteen hundred 
people. The business houses, consisting in 1837 
of fifteen stores, five taverns, two apothecary 
shops, two printing offices, and a market house, 
faced a public square in the center of which was 
a two-story brick court house. Six church 
denominations, each with its own building, 
looked after the spiritual interests of the 
people; and four physicians and eight lawyers 
found patronage in the town and surrounding 
country. While the railroad had not yet 
reached its iron arms that far, four different 
stage coaches arrived and departed three times 
each week, carrying the mail and passengers; 
and besides, four mails each week were carried 
on horseback.^'* The town, therefore, did not 



IN RICHLAND COUNTY 27 

lack for frequent and regular communications 
with the outside world. Altogether, Mansfield 
was just the sort of a place for a young man 
entering upon a professional career. 

Among the lawyers of the town there was 
none more prominent and successful than 
Thomas W. Bartley, one of the early settlers of 
the county and a man of sound common sense 
who enjoyed the confidence of all who knew 
him. It was the offer of an opportunity to 
study law in the office of this medium-sized, 
gruff-spoken lawyer that brought Samuel 
Kirkwood to Mansfield in 1841. Bartley at that 
time had represented the people of Richland 
County for one term in the lower house of the 
General Assembly, and had given such satis- 
faction that in 1841 he was elected to a seat in 
the State Senate, where he served for two 
years.^^ 

A rather uncertain prospect faced Kirkwood 
as he settled himself at a desk in Bartley 's 
office in a small, one-story building facing the 
public square. His small supply of money 
would by no means cover his expenses during 
the two years which would expire before he 
could take the examinations and be admitted to 
the bar. But again fortune favored him. He 
had in Mansfield a friend. Dr. E. W. Lake,^^ 
who happened at that period to be clerk of the 
court of Richland County. Not wishing to 



28 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

spend much of his time in the office, Dr. Lake 
virtually left Barnabas Burns, his deputy, in 
charge ; and oftentimes there was more work of 
a clerical nature than one man could well per- 
form. And so occasional employment for part 
time was offered to Kirkwood, such as copying- 
records and doing a part of the large amount of 
writing required in the office — work which he 
was glad to accept. In this way he not only 
earned sufficient money to enable him to con- 
tinue his studies, but was placed in a position 
to gain a knowledge of court procedure which 
was of great value to a prospective attorney. 
Furthermore, during these months of com- 
panionship there began a close and lasting- 
friendship between Kirkwood and Barnabas 
Burns.^" 

The two years in the office of Thomas W. 
Bartley passed without notable incident. 
Kirkwood no doubt found abundant inspiration 
to impel him to hard and serious study, for the 
Mansfield bar, in addition to Bartley, embraced 
some able and eminent lawyers. In the first 
place, there was Jacob Brinkerhoff, who shortly 
afterwards was sent to Congress where he 
attained fame by drafting the Wilmot Proviso, 
and who later served with distinction for 
fifteen years on the Supreme Court of Ohio. 
Another was Thomas H. Ford, a man who 
gained sufficient prominence throughout the 



IN RICHLAND COUNTY 29 

Commonwealtli to be elected Lieutenant Gov- 
ernor. James Stewart and Jacob Parker were 
scarcely less well known. And finally, there 
was Charles T. Sherman, to whose office there 
came as a student about this time his younger 
brother John, whose name, along with those of 
his illustrious brothers, has a safe place in the 
annals of American history. These two Mans- 
field law students, Samuel J. Kirkwood and 
John Sherman, were destined to sit for a time 
as colleagues in the Senate of the United States 
and to become trusted counsellors of Presidents. 

Late in life John Sherman recalled how, in 
order to prepare themselves in a practical way 
for future contests at the bar, the students in 
the various offices at Mansfield "organized a 
moot court, presided over by Joseph Newman, 
then in active practice as a partner of Mr. 
Stewart. We held famous moot courts in which 
cases Avere tried with all the earnestness, 
industry and skill that could have been evoked 
by real cases. In these trials Mr. Kirkwood 
and I were usually pitted against each other. 
. . . I have always regarded our contests in 
this moot court as the most important part of 
my legal training. "^^ 

Other friendships made by Kirkwood during 
these years were likewise significant. With 
Barnabas Burns, the deputy clerk, he later 
formed a congenial and lucrative partnership. 



30 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

Between him and Frank Barker, another young 
law student, there sprang up a warm friendship 
which was brought to a sudden end by a tragedy 
that gave Kirkwood his most important case 
before the court. But even more fortunate was 
the attachment which he formed for John 
Clark, a fellow reader of law in Bartley's office. 
It was through this young man that Kirkwood 
came to know the one who was to be his com- 
panion through life. 

Social life among the young people of 
Mansfield was notable for its freedom and 
democracy. There were ''social meetings, 
parties, dances, and an occasional ball during 
the winter, but in summer, riding in carriages 
and on horseback was the recreation of the day. 
Fleming's Ravine, about five miles from Mans- 
field, was the general gathering place for young 
and old. A small stream had cut a deep ravine 
with rocky banks on either side. An old mill 
with its overshot wheel spanned the ravine and 
filled it with noisy rattle. The adjacent woods, 
where the fire was lit and the coffee made, and 
the farm lands stretching beyond, made a 
picturesque scene often described and always 
admired." Here there were "dances, frolics, 
speeches and fun, with healthy exercise in the 
open air. "^^ 

At length the time came when Kirkwood was 
ready to take the examinations for admission 



IN RICHLAND COUNTY 31 

to the bar. This involved a journey of more 
than one hundred and fifty miles across the 
State to Cincinnati, where the examinations 
were held. Frank Barker also desired to 
present himself before the examining board, 
and the two men decided to make the trip on 
horseback rather than to pay the charges and 
suffer the inconveniences of travel by stage. 
Doubtless they followed the direct route which 
lay first to Columbus and thence by the turn- 
pike to the ''Queen City" and metropolis.^*^ 
The applicants were successful in passing the 
examinations ; and thus in the year 1843 Samuel 
Jordan Kirkwood was admitted to practice in 
the Supreme Court of Ohio. Shortly afterward 
he returned to Mansfield, secured an office room, 
hung out his shingle, and sat down to await the 
coming of clients. 



IV 

Member of the Mansfield Bar 

One day a few months later as Kirkwood was 
sitting in Ms office, reading law cases or per- 
chance idly watching some farmer as he drove 
np to the hitching rail which surrounded the 
public square, the door opened and in walked 
Thomas W. Bartley. Accepting the proffered 
seat, with characteristic directness he soon 
made known the object of his visit. 

For several years, indeed during the time 
when Kirkwood had been a student in his office. 
Judge Bartley had been in partnership with 
his brother-in-law, a man of apparently minor 
consequence in the firm. This arrangement had 
been growing more and more unsatisfactory, 
and now the lawyer told his former pupil that 
the partnership had been dissolved. Following 
this announcement he asked Kirkwood if he 
had given any thought to the possibility of 
entering into a partnership. Kirkwood replied 
that he and Frank Barker had discussed the 
question in a very indefinite manner, but had 
come to no conclusion. Thereupon his visitor 
came directly to the point and offered to take 

32 



MEMBER OF THE BAR 33 

him into partnership — an offer which was 
both unexpected and flattering to Kirkwood.'*^ 

Far different now was the prospect which lay 
before the young attorney. Instead of being 
obliged to wait patiently for clients and gradu- 
ally work himself into a practice, he could step 
into an assured position where he was to 
receive one-half of the proceeds of a well- 
established business. Of course he accepted the 
offer, pulled down his sign, and moved his 
effects to the old familiar office where for two 
years he had labored as a student. Moreover, 
at this time the new junior member of the firm 
had interests in addition to the troubles of 
quarrelsome neighbors and other people who 
needed legal service. 

Among the earliest settlers of Richland 
County were two immigrants from Pennsyl- 
vania, Ichabod Clark and his young wife. 
Coming in the year 1811 they settled upon a 
half section of land about six miles to the south 
and west of the spot wdiere in a few years there 
sprang up the town of Mansfield. It was then 
a region wild and almost uninhabited. Neigh- 
bors were few and far between, and to the west 
scarcely a tree or an acre of ground had been 
touched by the axe or the plow of the white man. 
Indians prowled about and oftentimes looked 
upon the intruders on their ancient hunting- 
grounds with such an unfriendly eye that the 



34 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

squatters built for themselves a block-house to 
which they and their wives and children might 
flee in case of danger. Especially during the 
War of 1812 did the red man's tomahawk hang 
over the dwellers in the scattered cabin homes. 
It was partly for this reason that Ichabod Clark 
enlisted in the militia and in a number of the 
small engagements on the southern border of 
Lake Erie did his part to protect his country 
against English aggression and his fireside 
against savage foes.^- 

After the war was over there began in dead 
earnest the long, up-hill struggle to make a 
farm out of a wilderness of trees and under- 
brush. Health and contentment, however, 
reigned in the Clark household and prosperity 
crowned the efforts of the pioneer and his 
capable, vigorous companion. Here were born 
ten robust children — two boys, Ezekiel and 
John, and eight girls, among whom was Jane 
born in the year 1821. 

Now it was John, the younger of the tw^o 
Clark boys, who was a fellow-student with 
Kirkwood in Bartley's office. It happened in 
the late fall of 1842 that John Clark was inter- 
ested in a lawsuit which was scheduled to be 
heard before a country justice in the southern 
part of the county ; and he persuaded Kirkwood 
to accompany him and be present at the hearing 
of the case. The road led past the Clark farm 



MEMBER OP THE BAR 35 

and so the two embryo lawyers stopped over 
night at John 's home, both going and returning 
from the trial. This was the first meeting of 
Samuel Kirkwood and Jane Clark, who was 
then in the bloom of young womanhood. The 
guest singled her out among her sisters and 
fell so completely under the spell of her charms 
that he was not able to remove her image from 
his mind and heart upon his return to Mansfield. 

Then ensued a period of courtship, which was 
carried on at first largely by correspondence 
because Jane was teaching and was seldom to 
be found at home. Later, in order to see the 
lady of his choice, Samuel was willing to run 
the gauntlet of jibes and jokes sometimes 
incurred by calling upon her at the farm home 
where for the time she might happen to be 
staying. The summer of 1843 witnessed their 
betrothal and the wedding was set for an early 
day.^^ 

It was at about this time that the firm of 
Bartley and Kirkwood was formed, and the 
junior member soon found that while he was to 
receive his full share of the profits of the office, 
he would be obliged to earn this good fortune 
by doing more than half of the work. Fully 
twenty cases had been placed in Hartley's hands 
to be taken up at the next term of court. Some 
of these cases w^ere of a very technical char- 
acter, since they had to do with riparian rights 



36 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

and damages due to the overflowing of lands 
caused by the erection of mill dams. Day after 
day went by and the senior partner seemingly, 
at least, paid no attention to the cases entrusted 
to his care. And so Kirkwood, realizing that 
the day for filing declarations or petitions was 
fast approaching, plunged into the work of 
drawing up the necessary papers. 

Finally the papers were all drawn up to the 
best of Kirkwood 's ability and placed on 
Bartley's desk for examination and criticism. 
Evidently, however, the old lawyer had implicit 
confidence in his new partner, for when the day 
came for the filing of the declarations the 
papers still lay undisturbed on his desk. With 
many misgivings, Kirkwood was obliged to 
gather up the documents, take them to the 
court house, and file them without so much as 
an opinion from the older and more experienced 
lawyer. The days which followed were anxious 
ones for Kirkwood, for much depended on his 
work. If there were defects in the declarations 
there would be demurrers on the part of the 
defendants, and the cases might be postponed 
to a later session of the court — a result which 
would certainly displease the clients of the firm. 
Great was his relief when the day came for the 
opening of court and no flaws had been found in 
his work. At this point, also, his partner took 
a hand and argued the cases before the court. ^^ 



MEMBER OF THE BAR 37 

This experience, while trying, gave Kirkwood a 
measure of confidence in his own ability which 
enabled him to attack subsequent tasks with 
fewer fears of failure. 

Amidst such activities the days sped by and 
the time set for the wedding was approaching. 
Late in December, 1843, the young attorney 
repaired to the Clark home, and there on the 
twenty-seventh day of the month Samuel J. 
Kirkwood and Jane Clark w^ere married. The 
Clark family belonged to the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church, the members of which denomi- 
nation in that particular locality depended upon 
a circuit rider for their preaching. It had been 
hoped that he would perform the marriage 
ceremony. But for some reason he was unable 
to reach that part of his circuit in time to be 
present at the wedding. And so from the town 
of Lexington not far away a minister was 
brought, who, though a stranger to nearly 
everyone in attendance,, said the necessary 
words in an entirely satisfactory manner.^'' 

The young people began housekeeping at 
Mansfield on a modest scale, in a four-room, 
frame cottage. It did not take long for them to 
win a place in the society of a town where 
everybody knew everybody else. Social life in 
a small Ohio town during the forties was simple 
and wholehearted: there was much genuine 
neighborliness and very little formality. There 



38 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

were no theaters and consequently no theater 
parties. Formal dinners were almost unknown, 
but there was no lack of that true hospitality 
which caused people to delight in having their 
friends sit with them at table. The young 
people occasionally indulged in dancing parties, 
but for Samuel Kirkwood this form of recre- 
ation had little attraction since he was never 
very proficient as a dancer. Indeed, people in 
those days did not greatly feel the need of any 
particular diversion when they met together 
for an evening. The opportunity for conver- 
sation was generally sufficient to cause the 
hours to pass pleasantly in a gathering of 
neighbors. 

The churches were to a considerable extent 
the centers of community activity. Mrs. Kirk- 
wood soon joined the Methodist Church, and 
while her husband, whose training naturally 
inclined him toward Presbyterianism, did not 
ally himself as a member with any church, he 
took an interest in church affairs. Sociables, 
quilting bees, and the like afforded much real 
pleasure to the participants and were events of 
considerable social importance. Moreover, his 
membership in the Odd Fellows Lodge brought 
Kirkwood into intimate fraternal relations 
with a number of the leading men of Mansfield. 
Thus, the newly married couple soon came to 
feel that they had a definite place in the life of 
the town.^^ 



MEMBER OF THE BAR 39 

Kirkwood, however, had very little oppor- 
tunity for indulgence in recreation and social 
pleasures, for his time was fully occupied at the 
office. He soon found that his partner had been 
wise in throwing him at once, unaided, into the 
midst of a sea of legal problems. During the 
year 1844 Thomas W. Bartley was called upon 
to act as Governor of the State of Ohio. Wilson 
Shannon, who had been elected chief executive 
in 1842, resigned the office early in 1844 to 
accept the position of Minister to Mexico, and 
it fell to Bartley, as Speaker of the Senate at 
the preceding session of the General Assembly, 
to fill out the unexpired term.^" Consequently, 
much of his time during that year was spent at 
the seat of government, and Kirkwood was left 
almost completely in charge of the affairs of 
the firm. Not only was he now obliged to 
prepare the declarations and other necessary 
papers without advice and assistance from his 
partner, but it also devolved upon him to try 
the cases before the court. But if the work 
thus heaped upon him required diligence and 
long hours, it also served to prove his ability to 
the people of Mansfield and Richland County 
and to bring him more quickly into public notice 
than if at first he had been overshadowed by 
the presence of his better known and more 
experienced partner. 

A staunch Democrat in politics, Kirkwood 



40 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

had by this time begun to attract the attention 
of local members of his party. He was a ready 
speaker and he enjoyed the public discussion of 
political questions, so that as time went on he 
came to be relied upon to make stump speeches 
at the small towns within the county. Straight- 
forward and convincing rather than eloquent, 
he spoke after the fashion of the debater 
rather than that of the orator. For this trait 
he owed much to his early training in McLeod's 
school and in the literary society in Washington, 
D. C. Another lesson, by which he ever after- 
ward endeavored to profit, was firmly impressed 
on his mind by an episode which occurred 
during the early years of his law practice. One 
afternoon the famous Thomas Corwin made a 
speech in Mansfield. By means of gestures and 
grimaces, stories and wit and humour he fur- 
nished rich entertainment for his audience, 
which he kept almost continuously in roars of 
laughter. The speech was pronounced by one 
and all, except perhaps by Corwin 's most con- 
firmed political enemies, to have been a huge 
success. In the evening Kirkwood and several 
other young men of the place called upon 
Corwin at the hotel. What was their surprise 
to find him, not elated at what they all looked 
upon as a triumph, but very much depressed 
and downcast. Conversation lagged, and at 
length the distinguished visitor gave his callers 



MEIMBER OF THE BAR 41 

a valuable bit of advice. "Young gentlemen," 
he said, "learn a lesson. I believe there is 
enough in me to rank with the statesmen of this 
country. Unfortunately, I have successfully 
adopted the methods of the humorist and will be 
remembered as Tom Corwin the clown, not the 
statesman. Always address your audiences 
from the highest plane you can reach and fur- 
nish them argument, not amusement. "^^ 

In the year 1845 Samuel J. Kirkwood received 
the Democratic nomination for Prosecuting 
Attorney of Richland County, and after a brief 
campaign was elected to the office. This was a 
position much coveted by young lawyers, not 
only for the experience which it offered in the 
trying of criminal cases, but also for the 
prestige which a successful term in that office 
added to their names in subsequent years. 
Especially was it an honor to one who only two 
years before had been admitted to the bar; but 
within a year it brought to him a painful duty. 

One day in the summer of 1846 a tragedy was 
enacted in the streets of Mansfield: Franklin 
Barker was mortally stabbed by Robert M. 
Rowland. It was a sorry affair growing out of 
family troubles. The two men were brothers- 
in-law, Barker's wife being Rowland's sister. 
Both were sons of well-to-do and highly 
respected parents, the Barker family dwelling 
at Plymouth in the northwestern corner of the 



42 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

county and the Bowlands living in Mansfield. 
Franklin Barker was one of the best liked of 
the promising young lawyers in Mansfield. 
Robert Bowland, on the other hand, was a 
ne'er-do-well, a young man who in all his life 
had done scarcely anything to support himself 
or reflect credit upon the family name. A few 
years earlier he had gone to New York City 
where he had taken up w^ith a w^oman of 
dissolute character whom he finally married. 
Running short of funds and with characteristic 
disinclination to earn a living by his own 
efforts, he returned to Mansfield with this 
woman with the evident intention of shifting at 
least a part of the burden of her support to his 
parents. 

It was shortly before this that Frank Barker 
had married Bowland's sister, Margaretta. He 
was highly incensed when his scapegrace 
brother-in-law brought his New York wife to 
the Bowland home, where, if Mrs. Barker were 
to visit her parents, she must associate w^ith the 
unw^elcome intruder. Not content with the 
mere expression of disapproval. Barker pro- 
tested vigorously, and no doubt with little tact 
or discretion. In return he received threats of 
violence if he did not desist — threats that 
passed unheeded. And then occurred the catas- 
trophe which horrified all Mansfield and vicinity 
and set up such a buzz of excitement as had 
seldom before been witnessed in the county.^^ 



MEMBER OF THE BAR 43 

As Prosecuting- Attorney of Richland County 
it was the duty of Samuel J, Kirkwood to bring 
the murderer to justice, a task which would try 
his mettle and if carried out successfully would 
add much to his reputation. But in this case 
Kirkwood had a more vital interest and it was 
that fact which necessarily made it painful for 
him to bear the responsibility of directing the 
prosecution.* Frank Barker, the murderer's 
victim, was one of the county attorney's most 
intimate friends, one of his very first acquaint- 
ances in Mansfield. With him he had studied 
law in Bartley's office; with him he had made 
the long journey on horseback to Cincinnati to 
take the examinations for admission to the bar ; 
the two had tentatively considered entering into 
partnership until Judge Bartley's otfer put an 
end to any such plans; and between Jane 
Kirkwood and Margaretta Barker there was a 
warm and loving friendship. Consequently, the 
killing of his friend was a severe shock to 
Kirkwood and left him with a sense of great 
personal loss. 

Nevertheless, he shook off his hesitancy to 
take up a case in w^hich his feelings were so 
strongly concerned, and assumed charge of the 
prosecution. The murderer had been promptly 
arrested and placed in confinement. He was 
next indicted by the grand jury and the case was 
set for trial at the November term of court. 



44 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

Partly at the suggestion of Barker's father and 
partly because he was unwilling to rely solely 
upon his own knowledge and powers, Kirkwood 
secured able assistance. An older and more 
experienced prosecuting attorney from an ad- 
joining county was called in; while from 
Sandusky came Ebenezer Lane,^^ one of the 
ablest lawyers in the State who had for many 
years been a Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court. 
Kirkwood himself put in long hours studying 
cases, gathering evidence, and securing the 
names of all possible witnesses; and he fre- 
quently corresponded with the Attorney Gen- 
eral concerning points of law. Nothing was 
overlooked in the preparation for the trial 
which was sure to be a battle royal, since 
Thomas Ewing and Columbus Delano,'^ both 
lawyers of talent and wide reputation, had been 
secured as counsel for the defendant. 

The trial was held in a crowded court room 
and amid the breathless interest of the people 
of the entire county. Witnesses w^ere examined 
and cross-examined for nearly a week, and 
finally the time came for the pleas of the counsel 
for the defense and for the prosecution. In this 
matter the young county attorney was inclined 
to defer to his older colleague. Judge Lane. 
"You are perfectly competent to present this 
case as it should be presented in all its aspects 
to the jury," replied Lane. "I have no repu- 



MEMBER OF THE BAR 45 

tation to make in it, I was got here to help you 
out on legal questions and I will leave tlie case 
now in your hands." Mr. Kirkwood therefore 
made the closing speech to the jury. 

The verdict of the twelve men who later filed 
back into the court room was murder in the first 
degree; and shortly afterward the judge sen- 
tenced Robert Bowland to receive the extreme 
penalty of hanging. Because the murderer's 
parents were old and respected citizens of the 
community, however, even the members of the 
Barker family were satisfied when the Governor 
of the State commuted this sentence to life 
imprisonment.'^ 

The outcome was a distinct victory for Kirk- 
wood. '*I offer my congratulations, for the 
result of the case, as a great act of public 
justice", w^rote the veteran lawyer, Ebenezer 
Lane, who declined to accept any compensation 
for his services if it would diminish the sum to 
be received by Kirkwood. ''What the Execu- 
tive may do, is of no peculiar moment to us, as 
long as the Judicial Department has done its 
duty. . . . But I more particularly con- 
gratulate you, for the success of your Profes- 
sional Efforts. There is but one opinion as to 
that and that most widely spread & its results 
cannot but be felt, in the reputation thus hon- 
estly w^on, & in the confidence which the Public 
will gladly bestow upon a meritorious Public 
Officer. "53 



46 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

Not least among the rewards wliich came to 
Kirkwood was the gratitude of Margaretta 
Barker, the young widow whose husband had 
been slain by the hand of her own brother. 
From the home of her husband's parents at 
Plymouth, where she had gone in her sorrow, 
she wrote many letters of appreciation for what 
the young attorney had done, not only in the 
securing of justice but also in acting as admin- 
istrator of her husband's estate. And at one 
time she sent him the cane which Franklin 
Barker had carried, "not", as she said, "as a 
token of remembrance, (that you will not need) 
but as a token of my gratitude ".^^ 



The Ohio Constitutional Convention at 
Columbus 

The years which followed the Bowland trial 
witnessed the fulfillment of Judge Lane's 
prophecy. Until the year 1849 Samuel J. 
Kirkwood continued to hold the office of Prose- 
cuting Attorney of Richland County, perform- 
ing his duties to the best of his ability and 
giving general satisfaction. In many of his 
cases he was opposed by John Sherman and 
others with whom he had contested in the moot 
court in former days.^^ At the same time he 
did his share and more of the work which came 
to the firm of Bartley and Kirkwood, and 
gained the respect of the older lawyers of the 
Mansfield bar. Thus he came to be well known 
throughout the county; and the high regard in 
which he was held is indicated by the fact that 
at a nonpartisan election held on the first 
Monday in April, 1850, he was chosen to sit 
with a group of men upon whom devolved 
the important duty of revising the Constitution 
of the Commonwealth. 

For nearly half a century the people of Ohio 

47 



48 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

had been governed under tlie provisions of the 
Constitution drawn up in 1802 — an instrument 
which expressed the best political ideas of the 
time at which it was made. It was compara- 
tively brief, and very broad powers were con- 
ferred upon the legislature.^*^ But with the 
passing of the years new and unforeseen prob- 
lems arose, and there was nothing to guard the 
people from the evil results of unwise yielding 
to popular and legislative fancies. There was 
no limitation, for instance, on the amount to 
which the State might become indebted ; and on 
this account the Commonwealth by 1850 was 
saddled with a debt of nearly nineteen million 
dollars incurred for the purpose of building and 
aiding public improvements. The people of 
Ohio, like those of the neighboring States, had 
gone wild over the building, first of roads, 
canals, and harbors, and later of railroads. 
When private capital flowed into these enter- 
prises too slowly to satisfy the demand for 
transportation facilities, the citizens were only 
too willing that the State should take a hand. 
All this was very w^ell for those who were able 
to profit by the increased values and the pros- 
perity attendant upon the rapid extension of 
means of transportation. But those who could 
see no direct personal benefit and those who 
came into the State in later years found the 
taxes levied to pay the interest on this enormous 



CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION 49 

debt increasingly burdensome. In time there 
arose an insistent demand for relief or at least 
for some assurance that the State would not be 
placed under additional obligations.^"^ 

In like manner the Constitution of 1802 was 
silent on the subject of corporations — a subject 
which at that time was scarcely considered of 
any importance. The legislature was left free 
to deal with these growing capitalistic organ- 
izations as it chose. Under a system of special 
legislation grave abuses arose. Free franchises 
were sometimes granted; corporations were 
largely exempted from taxation; and, in the 
belief that every encouragement should be given 
to these enterprises, powers were conferred 
which soon assumed monopolistic proportions, 
and became oppressive to the people. The need 
of some limit on the power of the legislature in 
this respect had therefore become apparent. 

Public sentiment had also changed in regard 
to banks and banking, taxation, legal procedure, 
and the framework of the State government.^^ 
In fact, a Constitution embodying chiefly the 
ideas of the Revolutionary period had in the 
course of fifty years become inadequate to meet 
the needs of a far more highly developed 
community. New evils demanded new safe- 
guards, while altered conditions required new 
grants of power to the government. And so, in 
accordance with an act passed by the General 



50 SAMUEL J. KIKKWOOD 

Assembly on February 23, 1850, delegates were 
elected on the first Monday of April, and a 
constitutional convention convened in Columbus 
on Monday, the sixth day of May.^^ 

The old statehouse, which two years later was 
consumed by fire, was a two-story brick struc- 
ture standing at the corner of State and High 
streets. The square roof culminated in ''a 
balcony in the center, whence rose a spire one 
hundred and six feet from the ground. Above 
the balcony hung a well-toned bell, whose clear 
ringing sounds were heard in the winter season, 
calling the people's representatives to their 
duties in the legislative halls."*'*- It was in the 
hall of the House of Representatives on the 
lower floor of this building that the delegates to 
the Convention, one hundred and eight in num- 
ber, gathered to perform the high function of 
revising the Constitution. 

Many able and prominent men were members 
of this Convention. Best known, perhaps, was 
the venerable Peter Hitchcock from Geauga 
County, who had served in both houses of the 
Ohio State legislature and in the lower house of 
Congress, and who for more than a quarter of a 
century had sat on the supreme bench of the 
State. Then there was Joseph Vance of Cham- 
paign County whose legislative experience in 
Ohio and in the Federal House of Representa- 
tives was even more extensive. He had also 



CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION 51 

been Governor of Ohio. Henry Stanberry of 
Franklin County had served since 1846 as 
Attorney General of the Commonwealth. Alto- 
gether, about fifty, or nearly half of the mem- 
bers, had served in one or both of the houses of 
the General Assembly; at least eight had 
represented the people of their districts as 
Congressmen ; while several others had occupied 
administrative and judicial positions in the 
State government. Furthermore, in subsequent 
years still others were destined to serve the 
people of the State and the Nation in various 
important offices. ^^ 

The average age of the members was forty- 
five years and the average period of residence 
in the State w^as thirty years. Thus the Con- 
vention was made up of men of mature minds 
who were qualified by long acquaintance with 
the needs of the Commonwealth to pass intelli- 
gent judgments upon the problems of govern- 
ment. About forty were lawyers and almost an 
equal number were farmers, but there were also 
a number of physicians, merchants, editors, and 
men of other trades and occupations which 
made the assemblage fairly representative of 
all the interests of society.*'^ In fact, the people 
of Ohio could scarcely have selected a group of 
men who were better prepared by ability, 
experience, and training to perform the duties 
set before them. 



52 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

"At 11 o'clock, A. M., [on May 6tli] Mr. 
Sawyer advanced to the Clerk's desk, and said: 
Gentlemen of the Convention, for the purpose 
of a temporary organization, I would call Mr, 
Larwill to the chair. "^^ With the adoption of 
this suggestion the Ohio Constitutional Con- 
vention of 1850-1851 began its lengthy deliber- 
ations. All but four of the members answered 
to their names at the roll call and presented 
their certificates of election, among them being 
Samuel J. Kirkwood representing Crawford 
and Richland counties. His two associates 
from the same district were Richard W. Cahill 
of Liberty Corners in Crawford County and 
James P. Henderson of Newville in Richland 
County. 

After electing William Medill as president 
and effecting a permanent organization the 
Convention spent the greater part of the first 
two wrecks in discussing questions of procedure 
and other matters, such as the publication of the 
debates of the Convention. In all this useless 
controversy and waste of time Kirkwood took 
little part. On May 14th when certain features 
of the rules of procedure were under discussion 
he made the pertinent suggestion that the Con- 
vention could not well act in this matter until 
the report of the committee on rules, then being 
printed, was laid before them. Later he raised 
his voice against permitting partisanship to 



CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION 53 

further protract the debate concerning the 
printing of the proceedings of the Convention. 
His remarks were brief, being in sharp contrast 
to the long-drawn-out speeches of other mem- 
bers. He was made chairman of the committee 
on privileges and elections and was given a 
place on the committee on the judicial depart- 
ment.*^^ 

Even after the Convention settled down to the 
real business for which it was called, the mem- 
ber from Mansfield joined only once or twice in 
the discussions until the question of legislative 
sessions was being debated on May 28th. 
Under the old Constitution the General Assem- 
bly had held sessions annually and there was 
strong support in the Convention for the reten- 
tion of this requirement. The chief arguments 
in favor of the plan were that only by meeting 
annually could the legislature successfully and 
intelligently adjust taxation to the needs of the 
State and guard the public treasury; that laws 
were often defective and therefore there should 
be frequent opportunities for revision ; and that 
public sentiment was wedded to the holding of 
annual sessions. In a speech of considerable 
length Mr. Kirkwood challenged these argu- 
ments. 

In the first place, he showed very clearly that 
it would be as easy for the legislature to esti- 
mate and lew the taxes necessarv for a two- 



54 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

year as for a one-year period. Moreover, it 
was not necessary that the legislature should 
act as a guard over the public treasury by 
examining the accounts of all the State officers. 
''Would not a small board, organized for the 
purpose, (and charged with no other duties) 
discharge this duty more satisfactorily and 
more fully than a committee appointed by the 
Legislature!" he asked. *'If this matter of 
supervision were an insurmountable difficulty 
in the minds of gentlemen here, such a board as 
he had referred to would obviate it : it would be 
much less expensive and much more competent, 
and much more laborious and efficient in the 
discharge of its duties than any legislative 
committee." 

As far as the need for frequent revision of 
the statutes was concerned, he felt that "it 
would be better to let the people have an oppor- 
tunity to understand the laws, before they 
elected men to revise and amend them. ' ' At the 
same time he was of the opinion that with 
sessions held only once in two years ''the people 
would be more careful to select mature minds, 
to select careful and prudent men", and thus 
better legislation would result. And finally, he 
could saj^ that nineteen-twentieths of his con- 
stituents, without regard to party, were in 
favor of biennial legislative sessions. "^^ 

A few days later when the same subject was 



CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION 55 

being debated, with frequent quotations from 
Coke and Macaulay and Jefferson, Mr. Kirk- 
wood again took tlie floor. In the course of his 
speech he summed up his attitude toward the 
whole question in the following words : 

The gentleman from Hamilton has argued this 
question as if it were a question of government or no 
government, of order or anarchy. Now, sir, this is 
not the question at issue. It is merely a question as 
to how often it is necessary and proper that the people 
should gather together by their Kepresentatives to 
enact new or amend or repeal old laws — whether it 
is better and safer that this should be done annually 
or bienially. I apprehend that while our General 
Assembly is not in session, we have a government — 
the law making power is in the hands of the people, 
where it is safe, or rather perhaps is dormant, and 
cannot be used to their prejudice; but the Executive 
and Judicial departments are in full operation, ex- 
tending, by means of existing laws, protection to the 
rights and interests of the people. It strikes me that 
there is a misconception on the part of some gentle- 
men who have argued this question and who seem to 
be impressed with the idea that it is only during the 
sessions of our General Assembly that the people 
possess any power. I think this is incorrect; the 
sovereignty — the law making power is in the people 
at all times, except during those sessions; at these 
times it is in the hands of agents and returns again 
to the people as soon as the agents cease to act. . . . 
It is no less true, sir, in popular than in monarchial 



56 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

governments, that the Legislature is the channel 
through which power is drawn from the sovereign, it 
is with us the channel through which power is drawn 
from the people, and I wish to make it as narrow, and 
open it as seldom as is consistent with safety. We are 
here to narrow that channel, and I hope, sir, to pro- 
vide that it shall not be opened more frequently than 
once in two years. •^*^ 

Nearly two weeks passed before the Richland 
County delegate again expressed his views at 
any length. That lie was keenly interested in 
the proceedings from day to day, however, is 
shown by the fact that he offered amendments 
to committee reports on such subjects as the 
terms of State officers, the disqualifications of 
electors, the granting of corporate powers, the 
taking of private property for public use, and 
the qualifications and veto power of the Grov- 
ernor.^" In each case his aim was either to 
avoid ambiguous provisions or to avert the 
possibility of abuses such as had arisen under 
the old Constitution. 

On the twelfth day of June the liability of 
individuals in corporations was the topic of 
debate, and on this subject Mr. Kirkwood made 
one of his longest speeches. Before turning his 
attention to the point at issue he announced 
that he ''would take occasion to travel, contrary 
to his usual custom, somewhat out of the record, 
and make some remarks on matters and things 



CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION 57 

in general", a privilege which other members 
claimed almost at will. The particular thing to 
which he wished to call attention was the 
tendency of some members of the Convention to 
apologize for and decry all exhibitions of party 
feeling. He failed to see the propriety of such 
a course, and "he had but little faith in the no- 
party professions of men who, but for their 
known party predilections, would not have been 
members of this body. ' ' He believed that ' ' the 
names made use of to designate parties, were 
not mere sounds, meaning nothing", but they 
stood for great fundamental principles. Nei- 
ther of the political parties was merely "a 
number of men combined together for the pur- 
pose of getting office." Therefore, he would not 
refrain from characterizing issues before the 
Convention as either Democratic or Whig in 
spirit. "It was an opinion which he had a right 
to entertain and express, and upon all proper 
occasions he would express it — and if his 
action should run counter to those principles, 
any gentleman on this side, or the other side of 
the hall could tell him that he was traveling 
from the democratic doctrine." In all this "he 
used the term partizanship in the better sense 
of the word ; in this sense : that it was an advo- 
cacy of principle and not of a party organiza- 
tion for the sake of office." 

The speech which followed this digressive 



58 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

introduction was an able defense of the neces- 
sity of holding shareholders of corporations to 
a rigid liability for the debts of the corpora- 
tions. He was in favor, however, of making 
some distinction between corporations formed 
for religious, charitable, or literary purposes, 
or for the purpose of erecting and operating 
works of internal improvement, and corpora- 
tions organized for the sole object of bringing 
financial profits to the shareholders/'* 

During the succeeding week Kirkwood spoke 
briefly on a number of subjects. He argued 
that persons through whose land a right of way 
was sought should have the right to the assess- 
ment of damages by a jury in the regular 
courts. Provision for an efficient militia, 
capable of being called into service in case of 
emergency, received his approval; and at the 
same time he could see no more reason for 
excusing persons from military duty because of 
conscientious scruples than for granting other 
individuals exemption from taxation for the 
same cause. In common with a large majority 
of the people of the State, he heartily favored a 
limitation of the State debt, and he would have 
this limitation placed in the Constitution in 
such unmistakable terms that there could be no 
misunderstanding or evasion.^'' 

In the midst of the discussion of issues of 
vital importance a furor was occasionally 



CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION 59 

raised over very trivial incidents or remarks. 
On Monday morning, June 17tli, Mr. Mitchell 
''presented the petition of Robert B. Mitchell 
and 61 other citizens of Knox county, praying 
that the Convention insert a clause in the con- 
stitution which will forever prevent the issue or 
circulation of bills of credit, bank bills, or other 
paper as money." This memorial was promptly 
referred to the proper committee and would 
have attracted no further interest had not Mr. 
Manon called attention to the language used in 
a portion of the petition. "There are certain 
members elected to this bodj- who have proved 
recreant to their trust," read the objectionable 
clause, ''and j^our petitioners would remind 
them of the fate of Judas and the doom of 
Arnold." Immediately there was a great 
clamor. Members declaimed against the use of 
such disrespectful language : they regarded the 
petition as an insult to the Convention. 
Charges and countercharges were hurled back 
and forth, and it was three or four days before 
the excitement entirely died away. 

Samuel J. Kirkwood w^as not one who was 
overwhelmed with his dignity as a member of 
the Convention. "I have, perhaps, peculiar 
opinions upon the subject of petitions," he 
said, "and wish this matter placed in such a 
shape as to test the opinions of others. I would 
'suggest' to gentlemen who think this petition 



60 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

disrespectful, the propriety of the appoint- 
ment of a committee to examine all petitions 
before presented, and 'purge' them of every 
thing that may be deemed derogatory to this 
exceedingly grave and dignified body, and who 
might perhaps, fix a very respectful form in 
which our constituents may be very graciously 
permitted to address us." Later, when the 
debate had been prolonged to an absurd length 
and certain members had descended to petty 
personalities, the member from Mansfield re- 
marked: "I have always thought that the best 
mode to protect our own dignity, was to be 
dignified ourselves, and to be so upon all 
occasions.""'^ 

While the question of whether this petition 
should be received or rejected was occupying 
much time the Convention was also deliberating 
upon the problem of providing a sinking fund 
for the extinguishment of the enormous State 
debt. Although he did not as a rule believe in 
embodying legislation in the Constitution, Mr. 
Kirkwood argued that in the light of experi- 
ence this was a matter which could not safely be 
entrusted to the General Assembly. "I think 
the proposition that we shall pay our debt 
within some definite time, and by some well 
defined rule, is of sufficient importance to find 
admission into our Constitution." He thought 
that the people would cheerfully pay ''the 



CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION 61 

necessary taxes to rid tliemselves eventually of 
the whole bnrthen", but he believed that unless 
some such plan were adopted they would in 
desperation repudiate the State debt entirely.'^ ^ 

Being a member of the committee on the 
judiciary and a lawyer by profession, Kirk- 
wood was naturally much interested in all sub- 
jects having to do with the judicial department 
of the government, and especially in the pro- 
visions relative to district courts. He was in 
favor of having these courts held in each county, 
instead of merely at two or three points in the 
district. At the same time he was willing that 
the times and places of holding district courts 
should be fixed by the legislature. Throughout 
a long and intermittent argument, extending 
over several days, it was his contention that the 
question should be left open for determination 
according to the desires of the people of each 
particular district, and that the legislature 
should be left to make its decision unhampered 
by any constitutional limitation. 

The debate at times became somewhat heated, 
and on one occasion it was declared that the 
opposition to a certain measure came from 
''half -lawyers and pettifoggers" — the intima- 
tion being that this characterization applied as 
much to those members opposing the measure 
in the Convention as to outside opponents. 
Mr. Kirkwood, who was in the opposition, did 



62 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

not believe such an insinuation had been in- 
tended. But, said he, "I wish to say, further, 
that I do not think these gentlemen have the 
power to assign me my place. That has been 
done by the people amongst whom I live — in 
my own neighborhood; and I am willing any 
gentlemen should enquire of them, if he would 
know my standing. "'^^ 

The Convention had now been in session for 
nearly two months, meeting twice a day — at 
nine o'clock in the morning and at three in the 
afternoon. Progress had been made, but thus 
far the end was not in sight. While the debates 
as a whole were of a high order, members had 
frequently occupied an undue amount of time 
with speeches bristling with classical allusions, 
poetic quotations, and figures of speech — 
speeches which sounded well enough but con- 
tributed almost nothing to the determination of 
the questions under discussion. 

Meanwhile, it was not all work and study for 
the delegates, for the social side was not neg- 
lected. The wives of many of the members, 
Mrs. Kirkwood among them, availed themselves 
of the opportunity to spend at least a portion of 
the time with their husbands at Columbus. The 
capital city, with its public buildings and its 
good shops and hotels, with its musical and 
dramatic entertainments and its cultured soci- 
ety, held out many attractions to those whose 



CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION 63 

lives were spent in the smaller, out-of-tlie-way 
places. And so there was a succession of 
pleasant evening parties while the Convention 
was in sessionJ^ 

But early in July there came a sudden breaE 
in the deliberations of the assembly. The 
Asiatic cholera, which had so terrified the city 
by its ravages during the previous year, again 
made its appearance and spread with great ^ 
rapidity. Residents by the hundreds fled from 
the city. It was estimated that of a population 
of nearly eighteen thousand about one-fourth 
departed in haste at the reappearance of the 
dreaded pestilence."^ ^ It was not to be expected 
that the members of the Convention would 
remain unmoved in the midst of such a panic 
when no man could feel sure that he was safe 
from the touch of the fatal disease. Gathering 
up their baggage they hurriedly departed to "^ 
their homes, and soon it was evident that a 
quorum would be difficult to obtain. 

It was no longer a question of adjournment 
or no adjournment, as Mr. Kirkwood pointed 
out, for the proceedings of the Convention must 
come to an end when there ceased to be a 
quorum.'^ ^ It merely remained to decide upon 
the place and the time for reconvening. And so 
after some debate it was decided to meet again 
on the first Monday in December in Cincinnati. ^ 
To meet at Columbus at the time selected was 



64 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

practically out of the question, since the legis- 
lature would convene at that place on the same 
day and there was no other hall in the city 
suited to the needs of the Convention. Cincin- 
nati was chosen because it was the most acces- 
sible point and offered the best accommodations 
for a meeting during the winter season. 



VI 

Constitution-Making in Cincinnati 

Aftee a five-months interval Samuel Kirkwood 
set out for Cincinnati late in November. 
Traveling in a stagecoach by way of Newark, 
he passed through a prosperous settlement of 
New Englanders surrounding the town of 
Granville, where for a time Mrs. Kirkwood had 
attended a seminary. Later, in the vicinity of 
Columbus, the road ran through land which 
was ''under a very poor state of cultivation", 
chiefly, as the traveler thought, because it was 
"owned in large tracts by rich men who do not 
labor and who rent out their land to poor 
tenants. "'^'^ 

Considerable time was spent by the Mans- 
field delegate in sightseeing during the first 
few days after his arrival in the Queen City. 
The boat landing was to him a place of much 
interest. "There are", he wrote to Mrs. 
Kirkwood, "usually from 12 to 20 steam boats 
lying there some arriving and others departing 
and whole acres of flat boats and the landing is 
all the time covered with a promiscuous throng 
of men women and children black white and 

6 65 



66 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

mixed, cattle hogs carts, drays wagons dogs and 
a little of everything under the sun in the way 
of merchandise and there is usually enough of 
swearing done in any one hour to satisfy a 
moderate man like myself for a week." He 
also visited the slaughter houses and "of all the 
horrible and disgusting sights" he ever beheld 
those there witnessed were pronounced the 
worst. On another afternoon, by way of con- 
trast, he spent several hours at the Art Union, 
where he found real pleasure. Especially did 
he admire Powers' much discussed statue of 
the "Greek Slave" girl, a large painting en- 
titled "The Last Victim of the Deluge", and 
the portrait of a young girl "that looked so 
sweet and tempting that had there not been so 
many persons present I believe I should have 
kissed it." 

A lecture by Cassius M. Clay of Kentucky on 
the "Theory of Morals", to which Kirkwood 
listened one evening, led him to confide to his 
wife the statement that "the more I observe of 
those who are called great men the more am I 
convinced that there is really less difference 
among men than is generally supposed. ' ' With 
men as with mountains it was often a case of 
distance lending enchantment to the view. 

Cincinnati on the whole was not a very agree- 
able city to Kirkwood. Soft coal was burned 
almost exclusively, and the smoke and soot 



CONSTITUTION-MAKING 67 

made everything black and dirty. ' ' I suppose ' ', 
he said, ''the dirt arising from the coal smoke 
is the reason that the ladies here dress so 
plainly on the streets. I am disposed to think 
from what I have seen that the ladies of Mans- 
field wear richer street dresses than the ladies 
here do." Moreover the city water was of a 
very poor quality. "At this time", he wrote, 
' ' the river is on the rise and the water we drink 
shows it. It has a pretty liberal mixture of mud 
in it and I am strongly of the opinion that the 
Cincinnatians are compelled to use if they live 
long more than the peck of dirt which is said to 
be assigned to each of us." Nevertheless, the 
waives of several members of the Convention 
had accompanied their husbands, and he urged 
Mrs. Kirkwood to join him as soon as he could 
find suitable quarters — a desire which she 
later gratified.''"^ 

The Cincinnati session of the Constitutional 
Convention was held in "College Hall" in a 
building owned by Cincinnati College, located 
on the east side of Walnut Street between 
Fourth and Fifth Streets. The hall was fitted 
up for convention purposes chiefly at State 
expense. In the same building were the rooms 
of the Young Men's Mercantile Library Associ- 
ation, the free use of which was extended to the 
delegates, who were also invited to attend lec- 
tures held under the auspices of the asso- 
ciation."^^ 



^ 



68 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

On December 2, 1850, the Convention re- 
sumed its interrupted deliberations. During 
the succeeding weeks and months Mr. Kirk- 
wood adhered to his custom of speaking seldom, 
and only when he had something definite to say. 
The first subject to claim his attention w^as that 
of taxation, upon the various aspects of which 
his views were expressed in the following 
words : 

My idea of the true principle of levying taxes is, 
that the means of the citizens should all be taken to 
form a basis of taxation. I laj' it down, in the first 
place, as a general principle, that everything should 
be taxed, without exception. 

I do not understand whether the proviso now pro- 
posed to be inserted, expressly requires, that any 
property shall be exempted. The difficulty heretofore 
has been, that the Legislature have been authorized to 
make bargains with corporations, and to determine 
whether their stock should be taxed or not, or to what 
extent it should be taxed. Now, I do not believe that 
the Legislature should have the right to tax the 
property of corporations in one way, and the property 
belonging to the citizens of the State generally in 
another way. 

Heretofore, credits have escaped taxation entirely. 
I do not think credits ought to escape taxation. I do 
not see, if I hold the notes of individuals to the amount 
of $10,000, why I should not be taxed for them. We 
have taxes upon property, and upon money at interest, 
and why should we not tax credits? 



CONSTITUTION-MAKING 69 

I desire to see the Constitution provide expressly 
what description of property shall be exempted, so 
that nothing but what is specified in the Constitution 
can be exempted. 

I believe that the principle of exempting all the 
property of churches is wrong; but I believe that the 
Legislature should have power to exempt a specific 
amount of church property, as such, and a specific 
amount of the property of all literary and scientific 
institutions, as such. But I would not be willing that 
any literary institution should possess a college en- 
dowment of half a million, and hold the whole exempt 
from taxation. I am willing that school houses and 
grave yards should be exempted, but I want all these 
to be clearly defined in the Constitution. 

Furthermore, lie was opposed to the existing 
system whereby real estate was often subjected 
to double taxation. For instance, he believed 
that if a man bought a farm valued at ten 
thousand dollars and gave a mortgage for half 
that sum, he should not be required to pay taxes 
on the total value of the farm, but only in pro- 
portion to the interest which he held in the 
property. The remaining tax would be assessed 
against the holder of the mortgage, and thus 
the land would not be taxed both upon its total 
value and upon the amount of the mortgage."^ 

A break in the routine of constitution-making 
occurred on Friday, December 13th, when the 



70 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

Convention took time to pay its respects to a 
distingnislied visitor from the land of Turkey, 
Amin Bey, who was traveling in this country 
for the purpose of observing the workings of 
American political institutions. He was wel- 
comed in a speech by the president, to which he 
responded through an interpreter; whereupon 
he and his retinue were invited to take seats on 
the floor of the hall.«^ 

On the subject of corporations Mr. Kirkwood 
argued on many occasions in favor of a definite 
provision in the Constitution giving the Gen- 
eral Assembly the right to repeal or revoke 
charters and franchises under such terms as to 
compensation for any resulting loss as would be 
equitable.^ ^ 

He w^as inclined to be suspicious of the move- 
ment for law reform embodied in the provision 
for a board of commissioners to revise, reform, 
and simplify the practice, pleadings, forms, and 
procedure of the Ohio courts of record. ' ' That 
some of the known forms of action may be sup- 
pressed, is perhaps true," he said, "but that a 
sweeping destruction of them all would be 
attended with benefit or even with safety, I do 
not believe."^- At the same time, he "objected 
to the grand jury system on account of its ex- 
pense. He would be glad to see all cases of 
assault and battery, selling liquor w^ithout 
license, and all petit larceny, disposed of before 



CONSTITUTION-MAKING 71 

a justice of the peace". Or, for all minor 
offenses ''there might be created a court of 
three justices of the peace, to say whether the 
accused should be bound over, and then let the 
prosecuting- attorney make out his indictment, 
without the intervention of a grand jury. "*^" 

As a general principle, Mr. Kirkwood de- 
clared that he favored the election of all officers 
by the people, but he would draw the line at the 
proposition to choose the directors of the peni- 
tentiary in this manner. He "was afraid that 
too much might be thrown upon the people by a 
multiplicity of elections. "^^ 

Finally, the last subject upon which the 
Mansfield member made any extended remarks 
was the question of banks and banking. In this 
respect he was decidedly conservative. For 
while he did not oppose the granting of banking 
privileges, he favored rigid restrictions; and 
especially did he desire that a limit should be 
set to the power of the legislature in this 
respect. "I say", he declared, ''that the people 
are interested not in the protection of banks, 
but in preventing their plunderings and rob- 
beries. Our pockets are the crop ; the banks the 
breachy cattle, and our present constitution, the 
bad fence. I admit, that the best fence could be 
constructed, by removing the old one entirely. 
But seeing that we cannot now do that, I am in 
favor of putting on the additional rail now, and 



72 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

making the new fence as soon as I can. . . . 
I am willing, and would be glad, to test the 
sense of the Convention in any way that a test 
can be had upon this subject ; and then, at last, 
I shall be willing to take the best thing that can 
be obtained. But I shall record my vote and 
raise my voice against the adjournment of this 
Convention, without some attempt to protect 
the people of Ohio from the system of bank 
plunder, under which they have suffered so 
long and so grievously." 

Like the majority of Democrats he was op- 
posed to paper money and in favor of an 
exclusively metallic currency. But it had be- 
come apparent that a hard money proposition 
could not be forced through the Convention. 
Members had argued that in a short time the 
output of the recently discovered California 
gold fields would be sufficient to meet all needs, 
and consequently there w^ould be no further 
danger in permitting the issuance of paper 
money. Kirkwood was not so sure of this 
result, but even if it should transpire he thought 
that it would be many years before any appre- 
ciable difference would be felt. In the mean- 
time the people should be protected, and to this 
end he proposed a section forbidding the legis- 
lature to pass any law "authorizing the emis- 
sion or circulation of paper credit of any 
description whatever, intended, or calculated to 



CONSTITUTION-MAKING 73 

circulate as money, of a denomination as low as 
the highest denomination of coin (the twenty- 
dollar gold piece) emitted by the Government 
of the United States. "^^ 

The Constitutional Convention of Ohio ad- 
journed on March 10, 1851, after having been in 
session one hundred and thirty-five days, cover- 
ing a total period of more than five months. 
The Constitution thus drawn up was very 
different from the instrument under which the 
State had been admitted into the Union. It 
contained definite provisions relative to State 
debts, finance and taxation, banks and banking, 
corporations, education, county and township 
organization, and jurisprudence ; and it made 
many important changes in the three depart- 
ments of Commonwealth government. In other 
words, the Constitution corresponded very 
closely to the needs and the political doctrines 
of the time at which it was made.^*^ 

It would be an exaggeration to speak of 
Samuel J. Kirkwood as a leader in the Con- 
vention. Nevertheless he was one whose in- 
fluence was felt. Measured by the time occupied 
in debate he was one of the least conspicuous 
members of the assembly: in quality his 
speeches compared favorably with any that 
were made. He was direct, concise, and prac- 
tical: and his chief efforts were in the interest 



74 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

of the elimination of ambiguity from the pro- 
visions of the Constitution and the protection 
of the people against the abuses under which 
they had suffered in the past. His opinions 
were respected in the Convention even if they 
were not always followed. 

For Kirkwood himself the experience at 
Columbus and Cincinnati was of great value. 
It compelled him, as nothing else could have 
done, to formulate his own ideas concerning the 
functions and problems of government. 



VII 

Removal to Iowa 

A NEW partnership was formed by Kirkwood 
shortly after his return from the Constitutional 
Convention at Cincinnati. Thomas AV. Bartley 
had acquired a taste for politics and the holding 
of public office. The election of Judges of the 
Supreme Court in the fall of 1851, occasioned 
by the provisions of the new Constitution, 
offered the opportunity for which he and his 
friends had been waiting. Kirkwood and others 
actively espoused his cause, with the result that 
Bartley received the Democratic nomination for 
Judge and was duly elected. Thereupon Kirk- 
wood took into partnership his good friend, 
Barnabas Burns. To tell the truth, this change 
was very agreeable to Kirkwood, for it gave 
him a congenial associate more nearly of his 
own age and one who would assume more of 
the hard work of the office than Bartley, with 
his established reputation, had seen fit to 
perform.®^ 

Clients were not wanting, and the firm of 
Kirkwood and Burns carried on a lucrative 
practice as the years went by. Kirkw^ood's 

75 



76 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

ability and integrity came to be appreciated, 
both by the members of the Mansfield bar and 
by the people of the community. It was said 
that "his statement of a case was equal to an 
ordinary man's argument. With the Jury he 
had unbounded influence — they believed in 
what he said. In fact he was generally known 
throughout the county by the appellation of 
'Honest Sam.' "^^ 

In politics he remained ''a Jeffersonian 
Democrat, and until 1854 acted with the party 
bearing the Democratic name. At that time, 
when the party gave itself up to the worship of 
'strange gods,' Mr. Kirkwood remained true to 
his Faith." He had always been opposed to 
slavery as an institution and especially to its 
further extension. And so when Stephen A. 
Douglas, in his Kansas-Nebraska Bill, proposed 
to repeal the time-honored compromises and 
reopen the whole slavery question, Kirkwood, 
like thousands of others, was no longer able to 
ally himself with a party which supported such 
a measure.^^ Here was just the issue to arouse 
a mind ordinarily rather indifferent to political 
struggles in which no fundamental principles 
were involved. 

With a revival of all his youthful liking for 
debate and public discussion he took every occa- 
sion to declare his opposition to Douglas's 
proposal. While the bill was pending in Con- 



. < 



REMOVAL TO IOWA 77 

gress he wrote and publislied in a local news- 
paper a series of articles, over the signature 
**0. K.", in which he scathingly attacked the 
provisions of the bill.^'^ And on February 17, 
1854, as chairman of the committee on resolu- 
tions of an *' anti-Nebraska meeting" held in 
Mansfield, he introduced a strong resolution 
denouncing the repeal of the Missouri Compro- 
mise and the renewed agitation of the slavery 
question.^^ No doubt such outspoken opposi- 
tion on the part of one who had long been 
known as a staunch Democrat carried much 
weight in the community. ^- 

What the result of this activity on Kirk- 
wood's part might have had on his political 
career if he had remained in Ohio must be left 
to conjecture. For several years the Kirk- 
woods had been receiving letters postmarked 
''Iowa City, Iowa". These messages from 
what was then considered the far West came 
from Ezekiel Clark, Mrs. Kirkwood's oldest 
brother, who had gone West in 1848 and en- 
gaged in the milling business near Iowa City. 

Thus it happened that in 1853 Mrs. Kirkwood 
and her other brother, John Clark, set out for a 
visit in the new Commonwealth across the 
Mississippi; and Mr. Kirkwood followed a few 
weeks later. The journey was made by rail to 
Chicago, with a number of changes of cars on 
the way, and from Chicago a railroad conveyed 



78 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

tlie travelers to a point not far from Rock 
Island. Crossing the river, they stopped over 
night at Davenport and thence proceeded by 
boat to Muscatine, from which place a regular 
stage line was operated to Iowa City. But it 
was in a prosaic, open hack, drawn by two 
horses, rather than in a picturesque vehicle 
with a four-horse team such as was used in the 
old coaching days, that they traveled over the 
last miles of their journey.*'^ 

A few weeks later the Kirkwoods returned to 
Mansfield. But within a little more than a year 
they were preparing to leave Ohio and make a 
new home in the State of Iowa to which many 
inducements attracted them. Ezekiel Clark was 
eager that his brother-in-law should come and 
join him in his business enterprises which had 
proved very profitable. Besides, Mrs. Kirk- 
wood's mother, her brother John, and one 
sister now lived in Iowa City, and another sister 
resided in Des Moines. Family ties therefore 
drew Mrs. Kirkwood to the West; while busi- 
ness prospects and the many opportunities 
offered by a new and growing community ap- 
pealed strongly to her husband. 

Some time was consumed in closing up affairs 
in the firm of Kirkwood and Burns, and in 
selling the house in which the Kirkwoods had 
lived since their marriage.''^ It was in the 
spring of the year 1855 that they started on the 



REMOVAL TO IOWA 79 

journey to their new home. Transportation 
was difficult and charges high in those days, and 
consequently they sold most of their household 
furniture, shipping only such things as could 
well be packed into boxes and crates. Just 
before their departure the members of the 
Mansfield bar tendered to Mr. Kirkwood a 
banquet which, "in addition to the feast spread 
upon the table", it is said, "was a 'feast of 
reason and a flow of soul' where Mirth and 
Good Cheer reigned supreme, and at the close 
of which many a farewell hand shake was 
given, and a 'God speed you on your way' was 
pronounced by all."^^ 

There was no lack of company on the journey 
westward, for this was the period of the great 
tide of emigration to Iowa from the States 
north of the Ohio River and the Common- 
wealths further east, Kansas and Missouri 
were also calling thousands of emigrants. In 
May, 1855, a Chicago newspaper could not see 
"the least symptom of subsidence in the im- 
mense tide of travel setting westward. The 
trains grow longer and fuller and more of them, 
and the hotels are constantly swarming.'"'" At 
times the hotels of the growing metropolis on 
the lake were unable to care for the throngs 
that desired accommodation. The railroads 
leading from Chicago to the Mississippi car- 
ried thousands of settlers seeking homes in 



80 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

Iowa, and from early spring to late fall the 
ferries across the river were kept busy trans- 
porting the wagons, flocks, and herds of the emi- 
grants who had come thither over the principal 
wagon roads. It was an emigration which was 
destined to change the political complexion of 
the State; and curiously enough it brought in 
those very elements which within five years 
were to elevate Samuel J. Kirkwood to the 
highest office in the Commonwealth.''^ 

The journey from Mansfield to Iowa City 
was made without mishap or notable incident, 
except for the annoyances due to crowded and 
delayed trains. It was fortunate, however, for 
a young Mansfield couple, likewise bound for 
Iowa, that they had a friend on board the train. 
For by the time they reached Chicago their 
slender store of money had been consumed, and 
it was only through Mr. Kirkwood 's generosity 
that they w^ere furnished with funds with which 
to complete their journey to southern Iowa — 
a generosity which was never repaid. 

In due time the stage-coach once more 
brought Mr. and Mrs. Kirkwood to Iowa City, 
w^here they were welcomed to the home of John 
Clark, which stood at the corner of College and 
Johnson streets. Shortly afterward a wagon 
was sent to Davenport to fetch the boxes and 
crates of household belongings. ^^ 



VIII 

Miller axd Farmer 

Iowa City in the spring of 1855 was a place of 
about four thousand inhabitants, spread out 
over a square mile of rolling land clothed with 
a native growth of oaks, elms, and hard maples. 
In the Old Stone Capitol, overlooking the Iowa 
River, the General Assembly of Iowa still con- 
vened in biennial sessions, and here were held 
most of the State conventions of the two polit- 
ical parties. Iowa City was also the seat of the 
State University, which in March of that year 
opened for its first session. Business was good 
and there was some prospect that the place 
would become a manufacturing center. The 
citizens were awaiting impatiently the coming 
of the railroad, which even then was being- 
built westward from Davenport.-*^ Moreover, 
it is said that when the Kirkwoods arrived the 
town was "red-hot and sizzing w^ith political 
excitement over the first consequences of the 
adoption by congress of Douglas's 'squatter 
sovereignty' theory ".^^"^' 

It was not within the corporate limits of Iowa 
City, however, that Mr. and Mrs. Kirkwood 

7 81 



82 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

took up their abode, but at a point on the Iowa 
River about two miles and a half northwest of 
town, where stood the mill owned by Ezekiel 
Clark. To this establishment there belonged an 
interesting history. In 1843 an association 
known as the Iowa City Manufacturing Com- 
pany was formed, and a sufficient amount of 
stock w^as subscribed to make possible the pur- 
chase of land and the erection of a dam. Early 
in the following year the mill was put into 
operation, much to the joy of the people of 
Iowa City and the surrounding country, for 
hitherto it had often been difficult to secure 
flour and ground meal. But for various reasons 
the company failed to make the expected profits 
and became insolvent, whereupon the property 
was sold at sheriff's sale and after passing- 
through several hands came into the possession 
of Ezekiel Clark.^^i 

Samuel J. Kirkwood purchased a part inter- 
est in this flour and grist mill, as well as in a 
saw-mill just across the river and in a farm of 
about twelve hundred acres adjoining the mill 
site. Thus was formed the firm of Clark and 
Kirkwood, wdiich later added to its already 
extensive business enterprises a general mer- 
chandise store in Iowa City.^*^^ Mr. Kirkwood 
and his wife moved into the Clark home at 
Clarksville, or Coralville as the suburb came 
later to be called, and Mrs. Kirkwood assumed 



MILLER AND FARMER 83 

the functions of a mother toward her brother's 
three children — two boys and a girl.^"^^ 

The erstwhile Mansfield attorney now "be- 
came a full fledged Iowa miller and farmer, 
wearing the dusty coat of one and the soil- 
stained boots of the other". He kept aloof 
from public affairs, and most of his neighbors 
saw in him only a "careless, burly-looking, but 
good-natured, miller", whom they liked and 
trusted and soon came to address familiarly as 
"Sam".i«4 

Prosperity continued to reward the labors of 
the millers, ^*^^ for they depended not merely on 
the trade of nearby farmers who came thither 
with their grists to be ground. Settlers from 
all northwestern Iowa — from the vicinity of 
Marshalltown, Fort Dodge, and even from far- 
away Woodbury County, it is said — could for 
a time find no nearer point at which they might 
purchase flour. "It was no unusual sight to see 
fifty or sixty wagons arranged at this mill at 
one time". During such periods the machinery 
was operated day and night, and "the vicinity 
of the mill often looked like a camping ground, 
so thronged w^as it" with the teams of settlers 
awaiting their turns to have their grists 
ground.^^^ The twelve hundred acre farm was 
likewise a source of profit to its owners. Corn 
was the principal crop; while the raising of 
cattle and hogs proved especially successful. 



84 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

since the waste products from the mill could be 
utilized to good advantage in feeding. ^^'^ 

The management of all these enterprises 
meant hard work for Kirkwood.^*^^ Nor were 
the duties which fell to Mrs. Kirkwood any 
lighter. With three growing children to look 
after there were ordinary household cares suf- 
ficient to keep her busy. But much of the time 
it was necessary that several farm and mill 
hands should be lodged and boarded in the home 
of their employers. The quiet home-life to 
which they had been accustomed in their Ohio 
home was impossible under such conditions; 
and this Jane Kirkwood missed more than any- 
thing else during the first years in lowa.^*^'' 

That Kirkwood had become a good judge of 
men is illustrated by an incident which occurred 
in 1856. One day there came to the mill a 
young man by the name of John F. Duncombe. 
He had driven all the way from Fort Dodge, 
for the purpose of making a shipment on the 
railroad which had recently been opened to 
Iowa City. Rather than return with an empty 
wagon, and as a speculation, he decided to buy 
some flour, and reap the benefit of the high 
prices which that commodity would bring in his 
home town. When he was about to leave the 
mill Mr. Kirkwood called his attention to the 
fact that he could easily haul much more flour 
than he had purchased. Mr. Duncombe replied 



MILLER AND FARMER 85 

that he had taken all he could pay for. There- 
upon the miller studied his customer's appear- 
ance for a moment, and then told him to load 
up his wagon and send back the money when he 
had sold the flour. The confidence thus ex- 
pressed was not betrayed, and at the same time 
Kirkwood thereby gained a good friend.^^" 

In their new home the Kirkwoods were not 
entirely among strangers. Mrs. Kirkwood 's 
mother, two brothers, and a sister (Mrs. 
Edward Lucas), as has been seen, were here; 
and within a short time Mr. Kirkwood 's brother 
John came and took up a farm in Johnson 
County. Moreover, in Iowa City and the sur- 
rounding country were a number of former 
Mansfield and Richland County people, among 
whom was Dr. E. W. Lake who had befriended 
Kirkwood when he appeared in Mansfield to 
study law in the office of Thomas W. Bartley. 
Among their neighbors they were received with 
western hospitality; and strong friendships 
soon sprang up with the Crum, Folsom, Dennis, 
and other families in Coralville and Iowa 
City.iii 

While Kirkwood gave little outward indica- 
tion of his interest in politics during the months 
when his new work was engrossing his atten- 
tion, it is evident that time had not softened the 
resentment aroused within him by the passage 
of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill. "I was really 



86 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

glad to learn that you and the other persons 
you have named have determined to support 
the Republican ticket this fall", he wrote in 
September, 1855, to a friend in Ohio. "If I 
were in Ohio, I would not only vote for that 
ticket, but I would stump it whenever I could 
find a stump to stand on, and a dozen voters to 
listen to me. In my opinion the only way to 
save Kansas from the evils of slavery, and save 
our country from the crime and disgrace of con- 
verting free soil into slave soil, is for the men 
of the North without distinction of party — all 
men who are Democrats in fact, and not in name 
merely ... to unite and say by their 
votes, this foul deed shall not be done."'^^- 

A man with such strong convictions and with 
Kirkwood's ability as a speaker could not ex- 
pect long to "hide his light under a bushel". 
In fact the time soon came when he was un- 
expectedly and against his will thrust promi- 
nently into public notice. 

This was a period of political readjustment 
precipitated by Douglas's measure and fostered 
by subsequent events in unhappy Kansas. In 
Iowa, as elsewhere throughout the country, old 
party alignments were entirely broken down; 
and the indefinite body of voters which in the 
summer of 1854 had elected James W. Grimes 
as Governor, had by January, 1856, become 
welded into a definite, homogeneous party 



MILLER AND FARMER 87 

which only lacked formal organization. Thus 
it was that, in the belief that a majority of the 
people of Iowa were opposed to the extension 
of slavery into free territory, a call was issued, 
bidding "all such free citizens to meet in Con- 
vention, at Iowa City on the 22d day of Febru- 
ary, for the purpose of organizing a Republican 
party, to make common cause with a similar 
party already formed in several of the other 
States of the Union. "ii=^ 

The convention which met at Iowa City on 
February 22, 1856, in response to this call was 
said to have been the largest political gathering 
ever held in Iowa up to that time. The hall of 
the House of Representatives in the Old Stone 
Capitol was filled to overflowing with delegates 
many of whom had traveled by wagon or stage 
or on horseback as far as one hundred and fifty 
miles in the midst of winter to be present. ^^^ 

Kirkwood's name appeared in the list of 
the fully accredited delegates from Johnson 
County, but it is apparent that he had not 
planned to attend the convention. In fact, he 
was not present at the morning session. Being 
a comparative stranger in Iowa he felt that he 
would know scarcely anyone in the convention; 
and besides, there was much work to do at the 
mill. In the afternoon, however, his partner 
urged him to go in to the meeting, saying that 
there were some of Kirkwood 's old Ohio friends 



88 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

in attendance wlio would be glad to see liim. 
Thus appealed to, and without much prepara- 
tion in the way of toilet, Kirkwood laid aside 
the work at hand and betook himself to Iowa 
City. In the convention hall he found a seat 
where he hoped to remain an inconspicuous 
observer of the proceedings. ^^'^ 

In many respects this was a remarkable con- 
vention, for the delegates felt that ''they had 
indeed assembled for a great and noble pur- 
pose". The afternoon and evening sessions 
were characterized by earnest speeches, when 
^'one man after another took the floor in favor 
of the limitation of slave territory, sundered 
the ties that bound him" to his old party, "and 
gave in his allegiance to the Republican party. 
It was an experience meeting, and men in the 
candor of their hearts briefly, tersely told of 
their bitter experience" in the old parties. ^^*^ 

In the midst of this series of speeches, in 
accordance with a preconcerted plan on the 
part of his friends, there came calls for 
"Kirkwood". Surprised at the calls, the miller 
at first paid no attention to them. But his 
admirers were not to be thwarted and they con- 
tinued to call his name. Whereupon, because 
he was a stranger except to the Johnson County 
delegates, loud whispers of "Who is Kirk- 
w^ood" were heard in the hall; while one dele- 
gate, in a louder voice than the others, called 
out "Who in h— 1 is Kirkwood f"^^' 



MILLER AND FARMER 89 

At length when he could no longer refuse to 
accede to the calls, Kirkwood stepped forward 
and stood before the convention. "He was 
dressed in his working clothes, and was be- 
powdered from head to foot with flour", says 
one who witnessed the scene. "He was a 
stranger to all except the Iowa Cityans present, 
and as I was fresh from the east with some 
memories of 'dude' orators, I wondered with 
lots of others who that uncouth laborer was. A 
'change came over the spirit of our dreams' 
pretty soon, let me tell you. He hadn't spoken 
many minutes before the sound sense, con- 
vincing logic, and forceful oratory, not spread 
eagle eloquence, captivated every auditor and 
held our fixed attention until his great speech 
closed. "ii« 

No chronicler has preserved in detail the 
speech made by Kirkwood that day, when he 
received his introduction to political life in 
Iowa. In substance he recounted how after 
many years of loyalty he had left the Demo- 
cratic party because that party had deserted its 
former principles. Without definitely com- 
mitting himself to work with the new party, he 
showed himself to be so thoroughly "in har- 
mony with the leading thought that inspired the 
convention", that he was placed on a committee, 
composed of some of the leading members of 
the party, to draw up an address to the people 
of lowa.^i^ 



IX 

The Sixth General Assembly 

Having thus made liis appearance upon the 
stage of Iowa politics Samuel J. Kirkwood was 
not again allowed to remain in quiet obscurity 
at his mill beside the Iowa River. The new 
Republican party was in need of speakers and 
of men capable of leadership ; and so Kirkwood 
soon found himself pressed into a service which 
he could not escape even had he so desired. 
His name appears in the list of delegates from 
Iowa City Township to the Johnson County 
Republican Convention on June 28, 1856 ; while 
he was scheduled as one of the principal 
speakers at a mass meeting held on the evening 
of the same day for the purpose of ratifying 
the nominations made by the National Repub- 
lican Convention. But of greater importance 
was his nomination for State Senator by the 
Republican convention of the district composed 
of Johnson and Iowa counties which likewise 
convened at Iowa City on June 28th. ^-^^ 

Of the campaign which ensued between 
Kirkwood and his Democratic opponent, J. D. 
Templin, there is little record. It has been 

90 



MEMBER OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY 91 

said, however, that it ''was a 'lost hope' he led 
in that election. No other republican dared to 
be a candidate", for the district had long been 
a Democratic stronghold. It is related, also, 
that his opponent endeavored to stir up senti- 
ment against Kirkwood by calling attention to 
the fact that the mill dam at Coralville pre- 
vented large fish from ascending the river, to 
the detriment of settlers living above the dam. 
But in spite of all handicaps and opposition the 
citizens of the district rallied to the support of 
"Sam" Kirkwood in such numbers that he was 
elected State Senator. ^-^ 

The Sixth General Assembly of Iowa which 
convened on the first day of December, 1856, 
was the last session of the legislature to be held 
in the Old Stone Capitol at Iowa City. While 
this Assembly was not particularly notable be- 
cause of the prominence or ability of its 
members, it included, especially in the Senate, 
a number of men well known in Iowa history. 
Kirkwood here found himself associated with 
such men as Alvin Saunders, William F. Cool- 
baugh, William Loughridge, J. E. Neal, Nich- 
olas J. Rusch, J. W. Cattell, Josiah B. Grinnell, 
W. W. Hamilton, H. H. Trimble, and M. L. 
McPherson. But what this body of men may 
have lacked in experience and renown they 
made up in earnestness and industry. Not only 
was this the period of the transfer of power 



92 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

from one political party to another, but within 
a few months there was to be a total revision of 
the fundamental law of the Commonwealth. 

During the two months of the legislative 
session Senator Kirkwood took comparatively 
little part in the public deliberations.^-^ It was 
later said of him, by one who knew him inti- 
mately, that he "was inclined to be indolent, 
and it required something more than ordinary 
routine legislation to bring out his great intel- 
lectual powers. "^■-'^ He was chairman of the 
Committee on Federal Relations and a member 
of the regular committees on public buildings 
and railroads, besides being appointed from 
time to time as a member of special committees 
to consider particular subjects. ^-^ Most of the 
time he was content to perform his duties on 
committees, offering only an occasional motion 
or amendment on the floor of the Senate. 

But there were a few occasions on which he 
was thoroughly aroused. On the afternoon of 
December 17th there came up for discussion 
House File No. 2, which was a joint resolution 
instructing and requesting the Iowa Senators 
and Representatives in Congress "to exert 
their influence and vote for the admission of 
Kansas into the Union as a Free State, and to 
oppose its admission with a constitution estab- 
lishing or tolerating Slavery." In the pre- 
amble it was asserted that "Freedom is 



MEMBER OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY 93 

National, and Slavery, Sectional", and that 
''the peace, welfare and honor of the country 
imperatively require that our National domain 
shall be preserved Free, for Free Homes, for 
Free Men". 

This was too strong a doctrine for the Demo- 
cratic members of the Senate, and one of their 
number, Mr. David T. Brigham of Van Buren 
County, was ready with a substitute series of 
resolutions which he immediately introduced. 
It was here declared to be the "imperative duty 
of the General Government to protect all actual 
residents in the respective territories of the 
United States, and all persons seeking homes 
there, in the free and full enjoyment of all legal 
and constitutional rights of person and prop- 
erty ' ' ; and the members of the Iowa delegation 
in Congress were called upon to act and vote in 
accordance with this attitude. In conclusion, it 
was asserted that "while w^e entertain and ex- 
press the confident hope that the people of 
Kansas will at a proper time organize, and 
adopt for her government a constitution pro- 
hibiting the institution of domestic slavery, we 
still recognize their right to determine and 
manage their own domestic institutions in their 
own way, and be admitted as one of the States 
of this Union." 

Quick to seize the opportunity offered by the 
last clause in this substitute resolution the 



94 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

Johnson County Senator proposed the follow- 
ing pointed amendment to Mr. Brigham's 
resolutions : 

To insert after the words, their own way, and before 
the words, and be admitted, in the latter part of the 
substitute, the following: 

Provided, That the power of the people who may 
settle in our territories to establish therein the systems 
of human slavery or polygamy is not essential to the 
free enjoyment by them of all the rights of self 
government. ^-^ 

''Never have we seen more consternation in a 
friendly circle than this created among the 
dozen Democrats in the Senate", wrote a cor- 
respondent for a Chicago newspaper who was 
sitting in the Senate when this episode occurred. 
"Had a bomb shell burst among them, they 
could not have been more disconcerted. Here 
was a dilemma, they must either vote for 
polygamy and slavery, or vote against them, 
they could not ride the non-intervention hobby 
and say to slavery, 'we neither love nor hate 
you, go where you please, and to polygamy you 
may do the same.' " 

"In introducing his amendment", continued 
this same correspondent, "Mr. Kirkrvvood made 
decidedly the best speech that has been deliv- 
ered this session. He is the Ajax of the Senate, 
at least a head and shoulders above all his com- 
peers. . . . He was in favor of the prin- 



MEMBER OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY 95 

ciple of self-government, but the right of 
self-government does not imply the right, 
authority or power to take away any of the 
natural rights of others. If the Democratic 
doctrines of to-day are right, we present to the 
countries of Europe the sad spectacle that our 
General Government looks with equal approba- 
tion on freedom and slavery, and has not the 
power, or at best the independence to choose 
between the two. If our country has the power 
and right to acquire free territory, it has the 
power and right to keep it free. We got Utah 
and New Mexico free; not a slave breathed on 
the soil of either, and yet we are told by the 
Democratic party, that we have no power to 
keep them free. I have been a long time a Dem- 
ocrat, I voted for Franklin Pierce, but I do not 
now believe this to be sound Democratic doc- 
trine and never did while acting with that 
party. "^-^ 

A desperate effort was made to strike out the 
word "polygamy" in Kirkwood's amendment 
or at least to secure a division in the vote upon 
the two questions, but all to no avail. In dis- 
gust Senator H. H. Trimble proposed to amend 
the Kirkwood amendment by adding ''after the 
word 'Polygamy,' the words 'Land Piracy, 
Murder, Arson, Counterfeiting, Horse Stealing, 
Whiskey Drinking, and Ignorance.' "^-^ The 
Democratic substitute was finallv laid on the 



96 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

table and the original joint resolution was 
adopted by a large majority. 

Senator Kirkwood was likewise wide awake 
when any measure relating to public education 
or school lands was under deliberation. Early 
in the session he introduced a resolution to the 
effect that "the committee on the Judiciary be 
instructed to report to this body whether, in 
their opinion, the State of Iowa is entitled, 
under the act of Congress of March 3d, 1845, to 
five per cent of the government price of all 
lands sold in the State by the United States for 
military land warrants", and he was thereupon 
made a temporary member of the committee for 
the special consideration of the resolution. 
Later, because criticism had arisen concerning 
the action of the Superintendent of Public 
Instruction and certain members of the Board 
of Trustees of the State University in pur- 
chasing University lands, he introduced resolu- 
tions calling for information relative to the 
alleged frauds. The defalcation of Superin- 
tendent James D. Eads also induced him to 
present a resolution which was adopted calling 
upon the Committee on Schools "to inquire and 
report, by bill or otherwise, whether any, and if 
any, what further legislation is required for the 
security of school funds in the hands of the 
county school fund commissioners of the State." 

Again, when Senator Neal proposed that 



MEMBER OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY 97 

"the committee on Schools be instructed to 
enquire into the expediency of locating the state 
university upon the five sections of land in 
Jasper county," Kirkwood was on his feet with 
amendments which may be viewed either as a 
disinterested suggestion in favor of central- 
ization or as a shrewd method of blocking the 
move proposed by Senator Neal. Instead of 
opposing the resolution he not only seemed to 
give it his approval but he also moved that the 
State capital, the asylum for the blind, and the 
asylum for the deaf and dumb should be in- 
cluded in the same plan. It is needless to say 
that there could be no hope of securing the 
adoption of such a scheme when politics and 
sectional jealousies were such decisive factors 
in the location of State institutions. ^^^ 

The consumption of valuable time by the use- 
less injection of partisanship into the discussion 
of legislative matters was not to the liking of 
the Senator from Johnson County. On Decem- 
ber 15th a ' ' bill for an act relating to evidence ' ' 
was read a third time and adopted. This bill, 
which removed the restrictions formerly placed 
upon the right of negroes and Indians to give 
testimony in cases involving a white person, 
was distasteful to the pro-slavery Democrats. 
Consequently, when it was voted to reconsider 
the title of the bill. Senator J. E. Neal proposed 
to amend the title to read "A bill for an act to 



98 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

equalize the white, the black, and the mongrel 
races." Senator M. L. McPherson, from the 
Republican side, thereupon offered the follow- 
ing substitute for this amendment: ''An act to 
repeal a tyrannical prohibition of the Code, 
placed there by the Democratic Party of this 
State." Not content to let the farce end here 
Senator James D. Test, a Democrat, presented 
another substitute entitling the bill "An act 
carrying out the policy of the Black Repub- 
licans." At this point Kirkwood hastened to 
call for the "yeas and nays" on Senator Neal's 
amendment, and this closed the discussion. ^-'^ 

Finally, much credit should be given to 
Samuel J. Kirkwood for shaping and securing 
the adoption of the bill establishing The State 
Historical Society of Iowa — a bill which car- 
ried with it a modest appropriation of two 
hundred and fifty dollars. In reporting for the 
Committee on Federal Relations, to which the 
bill had been referred, he secured the adoption 
of an amendment which located the Society in 
"connection with, and under the auspices of 
the state university", rather than "at the 
capital ".i2« 

The Sixth General Assembly adjourned early 
on the morning of January 29, 1857, after an all 
night session, leaving the Old Stone Capitol to 
the State officers and the Constitutional Con- 
vention which, for more than a week, had been 



MEMBER OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY 99 

meeting daily in the Supreme Court room. 
One of the last statutes enacted in the historic 
building which soon was to be given over to the 
State University of Iowa was a joint resolution 
by which Samuel J. Kirkwood was made a 
member of the Board of Trustees of that 
institution.^^^ 



X 

In the Senate at the New Seat of 
Government 

If Kirkwood had planned to give his entire 
attention once more to mill and farm and store 
upon the adjournment of the legislature, he was 
doomed to disappointment. On January 22nd, 
a week before the close of the legislative ses- 
sion, a Republican State Convention was held 
at Iowa City and Kirkwood was chosen as 
chairman of the State Central Committee, the 
other members of which were William Penn 
Clarke, George D. Woodin, Hiram Price, and 
Henry O'Connor.^^- Upon him, therefore, fell 
the principal burden of planning and directing 
the campaigns of the buoyant young part}'' 
during that year.^^^ This was a task which 
involved not only many personal conferences 
with party leaders, but also a great deal of 
correspondence and much public speaking. In 
this way he began the wide acquaintance with 
people in all parts of the State which in part 
explains his popularity in Iowa during the next 
quarter of a century. 

Especially did this new position bring Kirk- 

100 



IN THE SENATE AT DES MOINES 101 

wood into intimate relations with Governor 
James W. Grimes, the "Father of Republican- 
ism in Iowa". Early in March Senator Kirk- 
wood received a long letter from the Governor, 
the first part of which dealt with matters of 
concern to the former as a Trustee of the State 
University. Tiirning to the political situation, 
Grimes warned the chairman of the State Cen- 
tral Committee that "Our main etforts must be 
directed to carrying the legislature in October. 
. . . . As far as it regards any aspirations 
that I may have, I wish my friends to entirely 
disregard them and labor alone for the advance- 
ment of our party and its principles. I desire 
to prevent our party from being dissevered. 
. . . . It will be very important to us that 
we secure the right kind of a man for Governor 
in October. If we get a weak man, either intel- 
lectually or politically, we shall be swamped." 
And then he expressed his high estimation of 
Kirkwood's abilities by adding: "I would sug- 
gest your name if I did not think it better for 
you to be a candidate for Congress next year, 
with a prospect for a senatorship two years 
hence. If, however, you prefer to be a candi- 
date for governor in October, or if you prefer 
to be a candidate for the Senate in place of 
Jones you may rely upon my co-operation and 
aid. I am disposed to assist in selecting those 
men who can do us the most good. I want 



102 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

somebody in Congress from this State who has 
some common sense. ' ' ^^* The desire that Kirk- 
wood should be a candidate for Congress was 
reiterated in other letters during the same 
month.^-^^ 

The friendship between the two men was 
strengthened by personal association during 
the summer when they stumped a portion of 
the State together in the interests of Ralph P. 
Lowe, the Republican candidate for Governor 
who had a hard struggle against his able Demo- 
cratic opponent, Ben M. Samuels. Kirkwood 
had hoped to avoid journeying away from home 
during the season when the work of the farm 
most needed his attention. But Governor 
Grimes came to Iowa City about the middle of 
August and insisted that Kirkwood accompany 
him on a speech-making tour in northeastern 
Iowa, in place of John W. Rankin of Keokuk 
who had been forced to abandon the trip in 
order to attend to his own interests in a cam- 
paign for the State Senate. Yielding to the 
urgency of the situation as presented by the 
Governor, the busy miller-farmer consented to 
go. The two men traveled, as was necessary in 
ante-railroad times, in a two-horse buggy. 

During the succeeding three weeks Grimes 
and Kirkwood traveled through sixteen coun- 
ties, fording swollen streams, picking their way 
around swamps, and often riding for hours in a 



IN THE SENATE AT DES MOINES 103 

heavy rain — for this was an unusually wet 
season in Iowa. For instance, it is related that 
they arrived at West Union after an all day's 
ride through "a good orthodox downpour, in 
which water was at a big discount", and there 
found it necessary to borrow dry clothes in 
which to appear before the audience gathered to 
hear them. But in spite of the difficulties of 
travel all the appointments were met, and the 
people of northeastern Iowa were preached 
sound Republican doctrine. ^^'^ 

After his return from this wearisome trip 
Kirkwood made several other speeches at points 
nearer home during the three weeks immedi- 
ately preceding the election. On most of these 
occasions he participated in joint debates with 
Ben M. Samuels, the Democratic candidate for 
Governor.^^" Finally, however, the campaign 
came to a close, and the workers in the Repub- 
ican cause w^ere rewarded for their labors by 
the victory of their candidates. Ralph P. Lowe 
was elected Governor by a majority of slightly 
more than two thousand votes, while the legis- 
lature was kept from the control of the Demo- 
crats, thus insuring the election of a Republican 
United States Senator to succeed George W. 
Jones. 

By this time it had become generally known 
that James W. Grimes would be a candidate for 
the senatorship when the legislature should 



104 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

convene in January, 1858 ; but lie was not a man 
who put his own personal aspirations above the 
interests of his friends or his party. It seems 
that while the two men were canvassing north- 
eastern Iowa together Kirkwood had urged 
Grimes to announce himself for the senatorship 
and had promised his support in the legis- 
lature. But when the former returned to Iowa 
City he found that William Penn Clarke, his 
neighbor and colleague on the State Central 
Committee, was a candidate for the same 
position. Here was an embarrassing situation. 

Like a ray of light amid the gloom of political 
striving and intrigue was Grimes's letter to his 
friend. He had no kindly feeling toward 
Clarke, against whom he warned Kirkwood to 
be on his guard. But, he said, "if voting for 
me will injure you, you must not do it at all. 
If I go down, I do not intend to take any of my 
friends with me if I can help it. ' ' ^^^ 

At about this same time Grimes gave further 
proof of his regard for Kirkwood by informing 
him of the rumor that James Harlan would not 
be a candidate for reelection to the Senate in 
1860. "You must strike for his place", urged 
Grimes. "You know you can rely upon my 
help & you can get it just as well as not. "^^^ 
What ambitions these repeated suggestions may 
have aroused in Kirkw^ood's breast can never be 
known. Events were shaping themselves along 



IN THE SENATE AT DES MOINES 105 

other lines : a place of greater service awaited 
liim. Grimes and Harlan were to be the spokes- 
men for Iowa in the United States Senate 
during the period of storm and stress. 

The campaign was followed by three months 
during which Samuel J. Kirkwood was free to 
devote himself to his private business enter- 
prises. Then public affairs again claimed his 
attention, for the time had come for the con- 
vening of the Seventh General Assembly of 
Iowa. Instead of being able to remain in com- 
fort at his Coralville home, as had been his good 
fortune during the preceding legislative session, 
the Johnson County Senator must now prepare 
for a two months sojourn at the new seat of 
government one hundred and twenty miles to 
the westward. No railroad then carried pas- 
sengers over the distance in less than four 
hours. Members of the legislature. State offi- 
cers, and all other citizens of southeastern Iowa 
who had business at the capital must needs 
patronize the Western Stage Company, and 
make the journey in ''the old Concord stage" 
that ' ' day and night wallowed through the great 
snow drifts that filled the sloughs and ravines 
of the bleak unsettled prairies, from Iowa 
City." Travelers sometimes complained that 
at the eating-houses along the way stage-coach 
passengers were charged fifty cents for poor 
meals which were given to local patrons for 
twenty-five cents.^^" 



106 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

Des Moines, but recently emerged from the 
conditions of a frontier military and trading 
post, was, like its Federal prototype, a city of 
"magnificent distances", and that was the most 
that could be said for it in 1858. It was ''a 
little shabby frontier town of less than 3,000 
inhabitants. . . . The new state house had 
been located on the east side of the river a mile 
or more from the hotels, and the streets leading 
to it were, for a long distance, simply wagon 
tracks made through a long stretch of low, 
swampy river bottom," where vehicles fre- 
quently became fast in the mud. "One long 
straggling walk of native lumber boards, 
warped and slippery, could be seen strung out 
lonesome and wabbling in the direction of the 
new brick capitol. The speculators in real 
estate, who had built the state house on the then 
desolate hill in the distance, far from every 
accommodation a rude frontier town possessed, 
had hastened to plat into lots, streets and alleys, 
a vast region of swamp, woodland, and culti- 
vated farms. Prospectively they were gazing 
anxiously for a mighty 'boom' which should lift 
them from poverty into millionaires. But the 
crash of 1857 was lowering over the entire 
country, and the practical problem of bread and 
butter was, for the time, absorbing their chief 
attention and entire available resources." 

"All was rude, with stumps of trees, perilous 



IN THE SENATE AT DES MOINES 107 

ravines and walks made of coal slack", wrote 
one who was a colleague of Kirkwood in the 
Senate. ''There were boarding-houses on 
streets indicated by a surveyor's stake, or by a 
path through mud of various consistency, 
according to the weather, in which were planted 
and lost sundry odd overshoes without a sug- 
gestion of a search therefor. It is no legend 
that by lanterns and blazed trees we made our 
way at night near Capitol Square". 

The redeeming feature of the whole situation 
was to be found in the friendliness of the citi- 
zens of the town who were "liberal, broad- 
gauged, hospitable and hopeful people." None 
of the houses were large "but the doors were 
wide, the hinges swung towards the interior, 
and the Legislators who had time, and were 
given to the social amenities, were everywhere 
generously entertained. ' ' Parlors and sleeping- 
rooms in many homes were surrendered to im- 
portunate legislators who found lodgings at the 
distant hotels too inconvenient or too expensive. 
In a word, because this was the first General 
Assembly to meet at the new capital, the mem- 
bers received a welcome which for genuine 
warmth was not exceeded in subsequent 
years. ^■^^ 

Such was the town w^hich Kirkwood, together 
with a majority of the legislators, saw for the 
first time early in January, 1858. The Seventh 



108 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

General Assembly convened on the eleventh day 
of the month in the "Old Brick Capitol" — a 
building, erected by private enterprise, which 
stood on the site now occupied by the Soldiers' 
Monument. 

A large number of the names which appear 
most frequently in the political annals of Iowa 
are to be found in the list of the members of 
that Assembly. In the Senate, in addition to 
many able, hold-over members from the pre- 
ceding session, there were John W. Rankin, 
Gideon S. Bailey, W. H. M. Pusey, David S. 
Wilson, and others of scarcely less prominence. 
The House of Representatives likewise con- 
tained a whole galaxy of men who for many 
years were to hold places of leadership in the 
Commonwealth — such men as R. A. Richard- 
son, Lincoln Clark, D. A. Mahoney, Thomas 
Drummond, Cyrus C. Carpenter, Stephen B. 
Shelledy, William H. Seevers, Edward N. 
Bates, P. B. Bradley, B. F. Gue, James F. 
Wilson, Laurin Dewey, W. W. Belknap, and 
George W. McCrary. William P. Hepburn was 
chief clerk. It was an able body of men and it 
had important work to do, for many readjust- 
ments in the statute laws were made necessary 
by the provisions of the new Constitution. 

Senator Kirkwood was in his seat when the 
roll was called on January 11th, and during the 
succeeding ten weeks he took an active part in 



IN THE SENATE AT DES MOINES 109 

the shaping of new legislation. As in the 
previous session, he was chairman of the Com- 
mittee on Federal Relations ; and he was also a 
member of the standing committees on Schools 
and State University, Public Buildings, and 
Banks, besides being appointed from time to 
time to serve on special committees to which 
were assigned important measures for careful 
consideration.^^- 

Of the ten bills introduced by Kirkwood three 
found their way into the statute books. One, 
relating to the salaries of certain State officers, 
fixed the salary of the Governor at two thou- 
sand dollars. Another made an improvement 
in the law concerning mechanics' lien. The 
third was a bill making an appropriation for 
the State University. During the process of 
the enactment of the last bill the sum of money 
involved was cut down from twenty-seven thou- 
sand to thirteen thousand dollars; and unsuc- 
cessful attempts were made, first to establish an 
"Agricultural Professorship" at the Univer- 
sity, and later to stipulate that none of the 
money appropriated for building purposes 
should be paid out of the Treasury until an 
equal sum had been raised from private 
sources.^'*" 

Among the seven bills introduced by Kirk- 
M^ood which fell by the wayside was one pro- 
viding a salary of one thousand dollars for the 



110 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

corresponding secretary of The State Historical 
Society. The sum was reduced to three hundred 
dollars and in this crippled condition the bill 
for a time gave signs of vitality, but its life was 
snuffed out in the rush of matters at the close 
of the session.^^^ 

In the amendment of bills introduced by 
others Kirkwood was somewhat more success- 
ful than in securing the enactment of his own 
measures. ^"^^ Especially in the law establishing 
a State Bank with five or more branches are to 
be found several sections or important clauses 
which stand word for word as he presented 
them in the Senate as amendments to the orig- 
inal bill.^^'^ The epoch-making law of 1858 
relative to public education also bears the 
impress of his ideas in the portions dealing with 
high schools and school funds. ^^^ 

Kirkwood 's reports and his actions on the 
Committee on Federal Relations apparently 
attracted the greatest public attention at the 
time, for the relations between the Republican 
Iowa legislature and the Democratic Federal 
authorities were anything but friendly at this 
period. On March 12th, in behalf of the com- 
mittee, he reported a memorial and joint reso- 
lution which was adopted without amendment, 
declaring that "should the Congress of the 
United States at its present session neglect or 
refuse to comply with the prayer of a certain 



IN THE SENATE AT DES MOINES HI 

memorial passed during the present session of 
the General Assembly, in regard to the five per 
cent fund, claimed to be due the State, the Gov- 
ernor is hereby authorized and required to 
institute a suit in the Court of Claims in the 
name and for the benefit of the State against 
the United States, for the recovery of any 
amount that may be found due the State ".^^^ 

A note even more defiant was sounded in 
another joint resolution which Kirkwood intro- 
duced as chairman of the committee and which, 
it is safe to say, he had a large share in writing. 
It was a joint resolution "touching the opinions 
of some of the Judges of the Supreme Court of 
the United States, on political questions incor- 
porated in the opinion of that Court in the case 
of Scott vs. Sanford." The decision was 
branded as entirely "extra-judicial" and as one 
which was "conclusive proof of the settled 
determination of the slavery propagandists to 
subvert all those high and holy principles of 
freedom upon which the American Union was 
formed, and to degrade it from its intended 
lofty position of the examplar and bulwark of 
freedom, into a mere engine for the extension 
and perpetuation of the barbarous and detest- 
able system of chattel slavery." 

Therefore it was resolved "as the sense of 
the people of Iowa" that the "opinion of the 
Supreme Court in the case of Dred Scott is not 



112 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

binding in law or conscience upon the govern- 
ment or people of the United States", and that 
''we should be ungrateful to those whose care 
and foresight provided for us free homes, and 
derelict in our duty to those who will come after 
us, did we not promptly and sternly denounce 
this new doctrine, w^hich if established, de- 
grades the Free States, and either confines free 
labor within its present limits or sends it into 
our new Territories in degrading competition 
with slave labor." While it was admitted that 
"any person held to service or labor in one 
State, under the laws thereof, escaping into 
another State may be reclaimed, not as prop- 
erty but as a person, who by the laws of the 
State whence he escaped, owes, and by the Con- 
stitution of the United States, is capable of 
owing, a debt of service or labor which he must 
discharge", it was emphatically declared that 
' ' the State of Iowa will not allow slavery within 
her borders, in any form or under any pretext, 
for any time, however short, be the conse- 
quences what they may." 

The resolution, without a change, was 
adopted by a strict party vote in both houses of 
the legislature, and stood on the statute books 
as the official expression of the attitude of a 
majority of the people of Iowa on slavery 
extension in general and the Dred Scott decision 
in particular.^^^ 



IN THE SENATE AT DES MOINES 113 

During the winter the citizens of Des Moines, 
in order to express their welcome in a collective 
manner, tendered a reception to the members of 
the General Assembly and the State officers. 
"The festivities occurred in the Sherman Hall, 
. . . It was a whole-souled w^estern 'blow- 
out'. The lamps (literally) shone over fair 
women and entranced Legislators until after 
the midnight hour, and the dance and prom- 
enade still went on. "^^*^ 

Not wishing to appear unappreciative of the 
generous hospitality extended to them, the legis- 
lature early in March considered a concurrent 
resolution granting the use of the hall of the 
House of Representatives, the Senate chamber, 
the Supreme Court room, and the Library to a 
committee on arrangements, of which Kirkwood 
was a member and subsequently chairman, "for 
the purpose of giving a festival to the citizens 
of Des Moines." "A little discussion sprang 
up upon the passage of this resolution. One 
moved to strike out 'Library,' and another 
'Supreme Court Room,' expressing a doubt as 
to the constitutionality of using rooms which 
had been set apart for these purposes for such 
an affair as a festival. But the imagination of 
the entire Assembly snuffed the aroma of the 
forthcoming spread, and before their eyes 
flitted the beauty and intelligence of the city, so 
all constitutional scruples were silenced and the 
resolution passed unanimously." 



114 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

Senator Kirkwood, as chairman of the com- 
mittee, circulated a subscription paper and 
each member contributed ten dollars to the 
festival fund. And so, on the evening of March 
18th a gay crowd thronged the Old Brick Cap- 
itol. The desks and carpet had been removed 
from the hall of the house and here until early 
morning were heard the strains of lively music 
and the sound of dancing feet. The Senate 
chamber was given over to the promenaders, 
while ''an elaborate feast" was spread in the 
Supreme Court room.^^^ 

Five days later the Seventh General Assem- 
bly adjourned sine die, after having enacted 
many laws of fundamental importance in the 
history of the State. 

By the close of the session Samuel J. Kirk- 
wood came to be recognized as one of the most 
influential members of the Senate. "He was 
not a frequent speaker, but when he had occa- 
sion to express his views, it was always in a 
familiar, conversational manner that won the 
confidence of his hearers. . . . He made no 
pretense to oratory, and delivered no long, 
carefully prepared speeches ; but his common 
sense and judgment led him to correct conclu- 
sions. He was never brilliant, but always solid 
and reliable. "^^^ 

That he was respected by Democrats as w^ell 
as by his co-partisans is illustrated by an inci- 



IN THE SENATE AT DES MOINES 115 

dent described many years later by H. H. 
Trimble. Early in the session, it appears, 
Senator Kirkwood introduced a series of reso- 
lutions relative to banking. "Mr. Pusey's seat 
was right opposite mine," says Mr. Trimble, 
*'and he was a new man in this State; very 
young in age and politics, too. Kirkwood got 
up, kind of got his hands under his clothing, 
looked around in a queer, careless sort of man- 
ner; a man with a big head; long hair hanging 
down like an Indian's, and of swarthy com- 
plexion; very slowly and deliberately read his 
resolutions and after he got through made a 
few desultory remarks. Mr. Pusey leaned over 
and in a whisper asked me who that was. I 
told him, 'Some old farmer from up in the 
country here. Get up and go for him. ' He got 
up and went for him, and he found out who 
Kirkwood was."^^^ 



XI 

Director of the State Bank of Iowa 

For the first time since December, 1856, Mr. 
Kirkwood was now free to give liis thoughts 
and energies, without much serious interrup- 
tion, to his private business affairs. It is true 
that he was still chairman of the Republican 
State Central Committee, and that he made at 
least one political speech — at Cedar Rapids on 
August 6th.^^^ But the rivalry was not so 
intense in the campaign of this year, when there 
was no Governor to be chosen, and thus par- 
tisan needs made fewer demands upon his time. 
The prosperity which had attended the enter- 
prises of Clark and Kirkwood during the three 
years since the arrival of the junior partner 
enabled both men to take advantage of a new 
opportunity which was offered to persons of 
means during the summer of 1858. One of the 
most important acts of the Seventh General 
Assembly was the law establishing the State 
Bank of Iowa — a law which contained many 
provisions introduced by Senator Kirkwood for 
the purpose of placing the institution upon a 
firm basis. 

116 



DIRECTOR OF STATE BANK 117 

This new measure was hailed with great satis- 
faction, especially by the business men of the 
State, for the financial situation in Iowa was 
desperate. During the years of the Territorial 
period the people had passed through a bitter 
experience with the numerous "wild-cat" 
banks which flooded the West with worthless 
notes. As a result, the Constitution of 1846, 
under which Iowa was admitted into the Union, 
contained a provision absolutely prohibiting 
banks of issue ; and the legislature hastened to 
impose penalties for violations. But as the 
years went by sentiment gradually changed. 
Thousands of people came into the State from 
Ohio, Indiana, and other Commonwealths where 
wisely guarded banking institutions enjoyed a 
deserved public confidence. Besides, it was not 
long until many of those who had been most 
emphatically opposed to banks of issue came to 
realize that the constitutional prohibition was 
working hardship to the business interests of 
the State. Circulating medium became very 
scarce, and much of it, consisting of notes of 
local banks in other States, was almost "on a 
par with the forest leaves of autumn" during 
the panic of 1857. "In those days in Iowa the 
two most important books that every business 
man needed were a Bible and a counterfeit 
detector. And of these two, the detector 
seemed to be the most important for at least 
six days out of the seven ".^^^ 



118 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

Thus it was that, ''acting on the belief enter- 
tained by business men generally, that one effect 
of the creation of banks of issue in our own 
State, would be to drive out of its borders all 
this miscellaneous hodge-podge called money", 
the restriction upon banking institutions was 
removed when the new Constitution of 1857 was 
drafted and adopted. The legislature was 
given power to pass a general banking law and 
also to create a State Bank, but such laws were 
not to go into effect until ratified by a vote of 
the people.^^^ 

Popular approval was readily accorded the 
law of the Seventh General Assembly creating 
the State Bank of Iowa, which was to consist of 
as many branches, not exceeding thirty, as were 
organized and qualified in compliance with the 
requirements of the law. The State Bank itself 
was merely the central governing body, with an 
office at Iowa City, which passed regulations 
for the conduct of the branches and supplied the 
branches with the circulating medium in the 
form of bank notes which the institution w^as 
authorized to issue. Commissioners w^ere ap- 
pointed for the purpose of inaugurating the 
plan, after which full authority was vested in a 
Board of Directors consisting of one repre- 
sentative from each branch bank and three 
persons elected by the General Assembly.^^' 

At Iowa City, as in the other principal towns 



DIRECTOR OF STATE BANK 119 

of the State, persons with money to invest only 
awaited the adoption of the law by the people 
to launch out on the new enterprise. On August 
11th there appeared in a newspaper a public 
notice, signed by Samuel J. Kirkwood and ten 
other men, announcing that they had associated 
together for the purpose of establishing in Iowa 
City a branch of the State Bank, and that the 
book for subscriptions to the capital stock 
would be opened on September first at the law 
office of Edmonds and Ransom.^^^ Subscribers 
needed no urging and in a short time a sufficient 
amount of stock was taken. Kirkwood was the 
largest stockholder, having seventy-six shares, 
purchased at one hundred dollars a share. On 
September 16th the stockholders met and 
selected Samuel J. Kirkwood, John Powell, 
Edward Connelly, E. Shepherd, C. T. Ransom, 
Kimball Porter, and Theodore Sanxay as 
Directors of the Iowa City Branch of the State 
Bank of lowa.^^^ 

Soon afterward Kirkwood was chosen to rep- 
resent the Iowa City branch as a member of the 
general Board of Directors of the State Bank. 
At the first meeting of the board, on October 27, 
1858, he was made president pro tempore and 
served in that capacity until Mr. Chester Weed 
was elected permanent president. Subsequently 
he became a member of the executive committee, 
as well as of various special committees of the 



120 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

board. The records indicate that he performed 
his full share of the duties of a director until 
his resignation in the summer of 1859.^'^*^ To 
him, therefore, is due some credit for helping to 
establish an institution which for about seven 
years '' served its day to good purpose and per- 
formed in good faith all its promises. "^*^^ 

In the meantime Clark and Kirkwood sold 
their store in Iowa City to Thomas J. Cox who, 
it was announced, would "continue doing busi- 
ness at the old stand but in his own name and 
on his own account."^''- By this time, however, 
Kirkwood had become thoroughly identified 
with the business interests of the town. Late 
in October his name appeared at the head of a 
list of the members of a ''general committee" 
of citizens whose function was the promotion of 
manufacturing in Iowa City.^*'^ 

He was also a delegate to a State Railroad 
Convention held at Iowa City on December 
first. As a member of a committee of this con- 
vention he signed a minority report which 
declared that the credit of the State could not 
be loaned to railroad companies without a 
change in the Constitution. Failing in this 
manner to impress the delegates with the 
desirability of caution, he later proposed an 
amendment to the majority report to the effect 
that if the policy of State aid to railroads 
should be adopted then the State should assume 



DIRECTOR OF STATE BANK 121 

the debts already contracted by cities and 
counties. But tlie convention, almost wild in its 
enthusiasm to secure railroads at an}" cost, paid 
little heed to the advice of one who had seen the 
after effects of just such a public improvement 
fever in Oliio.^'^^ 

At the same time Kirkwood was fully aware 
of the great development of the State which 
would follow the extension of railroads over the 
prairies. In June, 1859, he journeyed to Cedar 
Rapids to attend the celebration of the com- 
pletion of the ''Chicago, Iowa and Nebraska 
Railroad ' ' to that point — a celebration which 
was participated in not only by the people of 
Cedar Rapids and vicinity but by delegations 
from Chicago and the towns along the Missis- 
sippi.^*'^ 

Amid all these business activities Kirkwood 
still found some time for the social amenities 
and for participation in the organized life of 
the community. He was a member of the Iowa 
City Lecture Association formed during the 
winter of 1858-1859 ; and in March, 1859, he was 
elected as a rural school director for Iowa City 
Township. ^"'^ Most of all he enjoyed the quiet, 
informal visits with neighbors and friends and 
the pleasures of his own home; for throughout 
his life he was a great home-lover. He was 
always glad of the rare opportunities for read- 
ing, and although the political news of the day 



122 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

was the all-absorbing topic, his tastes ranged 
far and wide in the field of literature.^^'^ 

It was well that Samuel J. Kirkwood thus 
found a year of comparative peace ; for he was 
soon to pass through the fire of one of the bit- 
terest political campaigns in the history of 
Iowa, after which his common sense and good 
judgment were to be subjected to the severest 
tests ever required of a Governor of the Com- 
monwealth. 



XII 

KiRKwooD Against Dodge 

The time for another State election was now 
approaching; and the two leading political 
parties were so evenly matched in Iowa and the 
feeling of partisanship so strong that the con- 
test was bound to be sharp and exciting. When 
or by whom Samuel J. Kirkwood was persuaded 
to enter the race for the governorship are mat- 
ters upon which there is no record. It may 
safely be assumed that James W. Grimes used 
his influence to that end, though not for the 
selfish reason later attributed to him.^^^ 

At any rate it is evident that the nomination 
of Kirkwood by the Republican party in June, 
1859, was not unsought, in spite of his reluc- 
tance at first to become a candidate. Early in 
the year he began to receive letters which indi- 
cate that he had made the decision and had 
embarked on the campaign in no half-hearted 
manner. On March lOtli W. W. Hamilton 
wrote saying that as far as he could learn the 
choice of the Republicans of northern Iowa was 
first for Kirkwood, second for George G. 
Wright, and third for Ralph P. Lowe.^^^ ''The 

123 



124 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

idea of your nomination for Governor takes 
well with every Republican to whom I have 
mentioned it, and I have talked with a good 
many from different parts of the State", wrote 
James F. Wilson from Fairfield a few weeks 
later.i^« 

Nicholas J. Rusch of Davenport, who was to 
be Kirkwood's running-mate, wrote on April 
20th expressing his gratification because Kirk- 
wood was willing to be a candidate. He urged 
the choice of W. W. Hamilton for Lieutenant 
Governor, since he was an "adopted citizen" 
and would satisfy the Germans. As for him- 
self, he felt that his "broken English and little 
experience are not proper qualifications for an 
office of that nature. "^'^ "By the mail that 
takes you this," wrote Thomas Drummond, 
editor of the V hit on Eagle, "I send a copy of 
my paper in which I have hoisted your name as 
a Candidate for Governor. ... I have as 
yet no knowledge whether you will be a candi- 
date of your own motion, but trust that you 
will". The following day the same writer 
urged Kirkwood to make the acquaintance of 
"Charley Aldrich" of Webster City, editor of 
the Hamilton Freeman, who wielded great in- 
fluence in his portion of the State. ^'- By May 
25tli a number of Iowa newspapers had come 
out in favor of Kirkwood as the Republican 
candidate for Governor.^^^ 



CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR 125 

Thus when the Eepiiblican State Convention 
met at Des Moines on June 22, 1859, the only- 
restraint upon the enthusiastic sentiment in 
favor of Samuel J. Kirkwood was the knowl- 
edge that Ralph P. Lowe was still desirous of a 
renomination. Governor Lowe had given satis- 
faction to the members of the party during his 
administration, and he was a man held in high 
esteem throughout the State. But he lacked the 
qualities required of a great leader of the 
people. The low^ering clouds in the political 
sky made the Republicans feel that they must 
have at the helm a man who would represent 
their principles on the slavery question more 
vigorously — a man more capable of inspiring 
the loyalty and devotion of all classes of 
citizens. 

At the same time the managers hesitated to 
offer a direct rebuff to a faithful leader of the 
party, whose wish to be retained in the Gov- 
ernor's chair for another term was not only 
natural but fully justified by his record. In the 
effort to relieve the embarrassing situation 
Lowe was urged to accept a nomination as 
Justice of the Supreme Court.^'^ But no 
decision had been reached when the convention 
met. 

A permanent organization was effected after 
the usual preliminaries and Timothy Davis of 
Dubuque County was chosen president. Finally 



126 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

a motion was made to proceed to an informal 
ballot for Governor, but before this ballot could 
be taken the presiding officer announced that he 
had a communication which he would read to 
the convention. ''Understanding that great 
diversity of sentiment exists in your body, as it 
relates to the subject of your next candidate for 
the office of Governor," was the message which 
came from Ralph P. Lowe, ' ' and believing my- 
self that there is danger of compromising the 
harmony of the party .... I beg to with- 
draw my name as a candidate for renomination 
for the Chief Executive of the State." 

A deep sigh of relief must have been uttered 
by many delegates as they listened to this mes- 
sage of withdrawal. Immediately, on motion of 
Lewis Todhunter of Warren County, Kirkwood 
"was nominated for Governor, by acclamation, 
amid the prolonged cheers of the delegates." 
Nicholas J. Rusch was nominated for Lieuten- 
ant Governor; and candidates for positions on 
the Supreme Court, including Ralph P. Lowe, 
were chosen. Kirkwood addressed the conven- 
tion "amid great applause". A platform was 
adopted in which opposition to the further 
encroachments of the slave power, support of a 
liberal naturalization law, and the demand for 
homestead legislation were the cardinal prin- 
ciples. Thereupon the convention adjourned 
and resolved itself into a monster ratification 



CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR 127 

mass meeting at which the enthusiasm of the 
large crowd was aroused by speeches by James 
Harlan, Samuel R. Curtis, C. C. Nourse, and 
other orators of the party.^'^ 

'^I hope it is not necessary for me to say to 
you how much I am gratified at your nomina- 
tion 'V^^ wrote James W. Grimes on the day 
after the holding of the convention. Kirkwood 
was the recipient of scores of other letters of 
congratulation. "He has few superiors as a 
political canvasser ; uniformly impressing those 
who hear him with a conviction of his sincerity 
and his devotion to right", was Editor John 
Teesdale's comment on the nomination.^" 

The die had been cast and the battle must be 
fought. Having once taken into his hands the 
banner of his party, Samuel J. Kirkwood was 
not the man to allow it to go down in defeat. 
Consequently he laid aside all private affairs 
and prepared for an endurance-testing cam- 
paign which was not to end until the day of the 
election. Nor was there wanting a host of loyal 
supporters ready to labor early and late in his 
behalf — among them being a young man named 
William B. Allison who performed his first 
political service in Iowa during this cam- 
paign."^ Never before and seldom since was 
the Republican party so thoroughly organized 
or so intensely in earnest. 

There was good cause for all this activity. 



128 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

for on June 23rd the Democrats met in State 
convention and by acclamation nominated 
Augustus Caesar Dodge as their candidate for 
Governor. Here was an opponent not easily to 
be defeated. Wise in the experience of long 
years in the public service, honest and upright 
in his private life, Dodge was assuredly the 
favorite and most able son of the Democracy of 
Iowa. As Register of the Land Office at 
Burlington, as Delegate to Congress, and as 
United States Senator he had been zealous in 
his devotion to the interests of his constituents ; 
and at the time of his nomination he had not yet 
returned to Iowa from Spain, where for four 
years he had represented the United States as 
Minister at the court of Queen Isabella. ^''^ 

Republican editors were quick to see political 
capital in the differences in the character and 
records of the two candidates. "One is fresh 
from the ranks of the people, is in sympathy 
wdth them, understanding and appreciating 
their wants and feelings", asserted an Oska- 
loosa editor. "The other, after a long absence 
from home, basking in the sunshine of royal 
favor, and mingling with the lords and ladies 
who cluster around and constitute the aristo- 
cratic Court of Spain comes back to the plain 
people of Iowa, wearing with him tender tokens 
of the Queen's sympathetic regard; his man- 
ners, his ideas of government, all differing from 



CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR 129 

those of the people whom he proposes to 
govern. ' ' ^^" 

The Republican candidate also received early 
hints of the abuse and misrepresentation to 
which both candidates w^ere to be subjected as 
the campaign progressed. On June 26th Grimes 
sounded a note of warning to the effect that 
Fitz Henry Warren, supposedly a supporter of 
Kirkwood, was spreading the report that while 
Grimes and Kirkwood w^ere canvassing north- 
eastern Iowa together two years before a bar- 
gain had been made whereby the former was to 
be elected to the United States Senate in 1858, 
wiiile the latter was to secure the nomination 
for Governor, canvass the State, and then come 
out for Harlan's place in the Senate in 1860, 
This story was concocted in the effort to preju- 
dice the friends of James Harlan and of other 
aspirants for the senatorship against Kirk- 
wood. ^^^ Happily Senator Harlan was appar- 
ently not alarmed by this rumor which soon 
reached his ears. ''Let us pull together — 
elect the State ticket and the Legislature," he 
wrote Kirkwood, ''and consequences will take 
care of themselves. "^"^^ 

Opposing newspapers soon took a hand in the 
opening skirmishes. From Davenport came the 
accusation that Kirkwood was a banker who 
loaned money at three per cent a month. The 
reply from Iowa City was that he owned some 

10 



130 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

stock in the branch bank and was a director of 
the State Bank. Otherwise he was "a farmer, 
and a practical farmer. "^^^ Charges and coun- 
tercharges were hurled back and forth regard- 
ing the efforts to arrange for a series of joint 
debates, for with the Lincohi-Douglas debates 
of the previous year still fresh in the minds of 
everyone this method of campaigning was still 
the most popular and effective. Each side 
taunted the opposing candidate with being 
afraid to enter a personal contest. In this the 
Eepublicans had the advantage of appearances. 
Augustus C. Dodge did not reach Iowa until 
July 9th and so the managers of his campaign 
were forced to delay their plans, giving their 
opponents the advantage of issuing the chal- 
lenge. 

''It is time the appointments were arranged 
and announced; and it is time that Mr. Dodge 
found a response to a call so promptly given", 
declared Editor Teesdale of Des Moines on 
July 13th. "Our veteran candidate desires to 
commence his labors as soon as he gets through 
with his wheat harvest. When he has threshed 
out his grain he would like to do the same ser- 
vice for the distinguished gentleman from the 
Court of Spain". A week later he notified his 
readers that Dodge had not yet accepted the 
invitation to meet Kirkwood in debate. ^^^ 

Meanwhile Kirkwood was not idle. On Julv 



CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR 131 

8th. he made his appearance at Davenport. A 
mass meeting was hurriedly arranged for the 
evening; and there, in the courthouse yard, 
''under the mellow light of the moon", he spoke 
to ''an immense gathering" for over an hour 
' ' in his own peculiarly felicitous and unanswer- 
able manner. ... A fine band added to the 
interest of the meeting" and "the utmost en- 
thusiasm prevailed. ' ' ^^'' 

Far different in tone was the comment on 
this meeting made by a Davenport editor of the 
Democratic persuasion. With a scurrility all 
too common in newspaperdom at that day he 
observed that "We don't care a copper whether 
Sam Kirkwood smells rank and strong of sweat 
and dirt, so long as he remains at home among 
his hogs — or in Iowa City among his associ- 
ates, money shavers ; but in the name of all that 
is decent we protest against electing a man 
Governor of the great State of Iowa, who don't 
know enough to keep himself clean ' ' ; and there 
was more of the same character.^^'^ 

Indignant at this unwarranted attack upon 
their candidate, Republican editors over the 
State could scarcely find words in which to 
express their resentment. "Savages in their 
rude wigwam villages would not so treat a guest 
of theirs", wrote Editor Jerome of Iowa 
City.^*' "Mr. K. is at all times, and in all 
places, plain in his garb, and careless in his 



132 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

toilet", was the statement of John Teesdale. 
"But we never met with him anywhere, when 
he could be charged with a want of cleanliness 
in person or garb. "^^* And this, it is believed, 
may be accepted as the verdict of all those, both 
friends and foes, who knew Kirkwood in his 
daily life. 

On the day following his speech at Daven- 
port Mr. Kirkwood journeyed by boat down the 
Mississippi River to Burlington and was in that 
city on the day Augustus C. Dodge arrived at 
home after his long absence. "Both were un- 
heralded", was the report in a Republican 
newspaper. "This was a matter of course, 
with the plain Republican, who had sent no 
notice of his coming; but after the protracted 
absence of the last and least of the Caesars, an 
entree thus unmarked must have been rather 
mortifying". Kirkwood remained over Sunday 
in the river city, and on Monday met Dodge for 
the first time. A few days later at Muscatine 
he spoke "in complimentary terms of his com- 
petitor's appearance and manners. "^^'^ 

While waiting for the reply of the Dodge 
forces in regard to the holding of joint debates 
a long list of speaking appointments in the 
southern portion of the State was arranged for 
Kirkwood, beginning on July 25tli at Muscatine, 
where it was "regretted that prudential reasons 
relating to the health of Mr. K. must for the 



CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR 133 

present prevent him from speaking in tlie most 
popular way — that is, in the open air. "^^*^ 
Having been instrumental in planning Kirk- 
wood's campaign in certain counties in the 
southern tier, John A. Kasson informed him by 
letter that the people in those counties came 
chiefly from southern Ohio, Indiana, and Illi- 
nois, and were ' ' scared at the idea of abolition- 
ism". ''It will be well for you to run your 
Maryland birth a little down there", was his 
advice, "and to pitch into Democracy, the real 
agitators of the slavery question ".^^^ 

About this time the Bloomfield Clarion, a 
Democratic sheet, unwittingly furnished the 
opposition with ammunition by referring to the 
Republican ticket as the "Plough-handle 
Ticket". This term, used in opprobrium, was 
eagerly seized upon by Republican editors, 
many of whom placed it at the head of their 
editorial columns, sometimes accompanied by a 
cut of a plow.^'^- Although the Democrats real- 
ized the mistake, and one editor sought to 
counteract its effect by charging that Kirkwood 
and Rusch "made their farms by land sharking 
and loaning money at 3 per cent per month "j^*'^ 
they were unable to wage successful combat 
against an idea which was no doubt worked for 
all it was worth by the Republicans. There is 
no evidence, however, that Kirkwood himself 
made any insincere efforts, as regards dress or 



134 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

manners, to appeal to the supposed prejudices 
of farmers and laboring men. 

Late in July tlie challenge to joint debate 
was accepted by Dodge and the first public con- 
test between the two men occurred at Oskaloosa 
on the twenty-ninth day of the month. The 
speeches furnished sufficient excitement, with a 
liberal amount of amusement, to hold the large 
crowd all through the afternoon and to bring 
them back in the evening to listen for two or 
three additional hours. 

''Did you not sustain the Compromise Meas- 
ures of 18501" asked Dodge in the course of 
the debate. "I did sustain those measures," 
replied Kirkwood, ''in the spirit in which their 
adoption was urged; not because I liked them 
all, but as a Compromise, in which both parties 
were expected to surrender something for the 
sake of peace, and a final settlement of the 
vexed question." 

"Mr. Kirkwood, would you obey the Fugitive 
Slave Law?" was the Democratic candidate's 
next question. To this Kirkwood replied: "I 
would not resist the enforcement of that Law, 
but before I would aid in capturing a fugitive 
slave I would suffer the penalty of the law, but 
I would not aid into carrying it into execution. ' ' 
Kirkwood now ' ' returned the compliment ' ' and 
asked his opponent if he would assist in cap- 
turing a runaway slave. "I would", said 



CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR 135 

Dodge. ''I would do whatever the law requires 
me to do."^^^ 

The newspaper reports of this debate, as of 
those which followed, varied greatly according 
to the party affiliations of the writers. ''As he 
[Kirkwood] w^armed up with his subject," 
wrote a not over-scrupulous correspondent to 
the Democratic organ at Des Moines, "he 
descended to the lowest depths of vulgarity and 
blackguardism. . . . No species of low circus- 
acting clownishness that he would not use for 
effect. Even his political friends admit that he 
is a blackguard, and yet some of them honor 
him for it."^*^' On the other hand. Republicans 
in describing the event, declared that ''Dodge 
became furious threatened violence, pistols, 
blunderbusses &c."; that as "a specimen of 
pomposity, self-importance, and self-lauda- 
tion," his speech "was hard to beat". Toward 
the close of the debate Dodge was described as 
springing to his feet and declaring "that if 
Mr. K. said that he (Gen. D.) was in favor of 
the slave trade he was a liar, and that, if he 
repeated it, he would 'cram the lie down his 
throat.' Mr. K. without any excitement what- 
ever, remarked that, if the Gen. was speaking 
figuratively, it was all right, but if he attempted 
the matter practically he would find it a very 
difficult matter, "i^'^ 

Two days later, in the evening, the candidates 



136 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

clashed again at Bloomfield and in the audience 
there was a young man twenty-six years of age 
by the name of James Baird Weaver. "Kirk- 
wood drew a picture of a slave mother with a 
babe in her arms fleeing from bondage with her 
eye on the North Star. In close pursuit was 
her cruel master with his bloodhounds hard 
after her, just as she crossed the Iowa line from 
Missouri. Clenching his fists and advancing 
toward Dodge he demanded to know if he under 
such circumstances would turn that fleeing 
mother and her infant back to her pursuing 
master. Before the breathless multitude Kirk- 
wood shouted at the top of his voice 'Answer 
my question!' Dodge replied, 'I would obey 
the law.' Kirkwood retorted, 'So help me, 
God, I would suffer my right arm to be torn 
from its socket before I would do such a mon- 
strous thing'. The crowd broke into a frenzy 
that resembled the sweep of a cyclone through 
a forest. Men grew pale and clenched each 
other in frenzy. The whole audience .... 
were carried irresistibly off their feet. The 
moral sense of the multitude had been reached 
and it was vain to attempt to reverse the deep 
impression which had been made."^^" 

Albia was the scene of conflict on August 3rd 
and Chariton on the following day. Again 
Democratic journals charged Kirkwood with 
vulgarity and with misrepresenting the facts 



CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR 137 

concerning the expenses of State government 
under Republican administration. About this 
time he was also assailed in the press with the 
assertion that the land and mills at Coralville 
had been secured by dishonest means, and that 
he had brought about the unauthorized pur- 
chase of the Park House in Iowa City to be 
used as the Deaf and Dumb Asylum — charges 
which were easily refuted because entirely 
false.i^« 

At Chariton the speakers stood on a platform 
which was very unsteady, consisting as it did 
simply of planks elevated by means of wooden 
blocks. When Dodge ceased speaking he re- 
quested someone in the audience to hold the 
platform and keep it from falling as he stepped 
down. "I have been trying to convince the 
General", observed Kirkwood, "that his plat- 
form is rather shaky, — that he cannot stand on 
it very well." The effect was described as 
"irresistibly ludicrous", since Dodge gave evi- 
dence of not appreciating the joke of his 
opponent. ^'^'^ 

Thus the candidates proceeded westward 
through the southern part of the State,^'^^ trav- 
eling part of the time, no doubt, over the road 
marked across the prairies more than a decade 
before by the Mormons in their great hegira. 
The debate at Glenwood was characterized as 
"the most exciting discussion of the campaign" 



138 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

thus far. A Republican editor was informed 
that Dodge ''allowed his temper to get complete 
control of him. He doffed his coat, offered to 
fight with his fists, pistol, knives or in any other 
way. — While he was making these demonstra- 
tions a large number of men arose in the crowd 
and called for the city mar shall. "-*^^*^ 

Joint debates were not held at every point 
along the way, but each candidate apparently 
had his own appointments which he met without 
his opponent. At various places in western 
Iowa the Republican candidate was accom- 
panied by Grenville M. Dodge, a young civil 
engineer whose advice even at that time was 
sought by everyone interested in the proposed 
trans-continental railroad. In this region 
Kirkwood and Abraham Lincoln crossed paths, 
although the two men did not meet. In August 
Mr. Lincoln spoke at Council Bluffs and "he 
took occasion to commend the advanced stand 
taken by Kirkwood in his campaign for gov- 
ernor" — an approval wdiich no doubt benefited 
the latter who "was regarded by many as pretty 
strong on the slavery question. "-*^'^ 

Sioux City was the extreme northwestern 
point reached in the itinerary. "Abe" White 
and John H. Charles "went down below Ser- 
geant's Bluff and met Kirkwood, who drove in, 
and brought him back to Sioux City. Dodge 
came in a little later on the stage from Council 



CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR 139 

Bluffs." "Kirkwood was a farmer, and looked 
it", wrote one of the men who thus escorted the 
candidate to the frontier town on the Missouri. 
"He wore coarse shoes .... and flannel 
shirt. But though he was simple and plain he 
was also honest and straightforward, and so 
impressed people. He took well here. "^^^ 

The campaign now shifted once more to east- 
ern Iowa; and thus it happened that a joint 
debate was scheduled to occur at the little city 
of Washington on September 2nd. The two 
candidates were expected to arrive in separate 
conveyances over the road from Sigourney^ 
where they had spoken on the previous evening. 
Now among the leading Democrats in that 
vicinity was one John H. Bacon, a breeder of 
fine horses, who, with his friends conceived the 
idea of meeting their hero in a manner befitting 
his importance. Four of Mr. Bacon's white 
horses were selected, "scoured" clean, and 
hitched to the finest carriage the town afforded. 
The Republicans were at first somewhat dis- 
concerted when the news of these elegant prep- 
arations reached their ears. But a farmer by 
the name of Jonathan Wilson was equal to the 
occasion. He owned a yoke of oxen, well 
trained and trustworthy, which he now hitched 
to a lumber wagon bearing a hayrack. The 
Democratic equipage had already been driven 
out some distance on the Sigourney road and 



140 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

stationed by the wayside to await its distin- 
guished occupant. Wilson, with two or three 
other men, soon set out in the same direction, 
pretending to be going for a load of hay. 

Kirkwood was the first to approach and as 
the carriage was spied, one of his companions 
remarked, "Well, I guess they have come out to 
meet you in fine style." But the attendants of 
the four-horse team gave no sign and so the 
Kirkwood party drove on down the road. Soon 
they were hailed by an occupant of the hay- 
rack which was likew^ise drawn up by the road- 
side. "Be you Sam Kirkwood?" inquired the 
spokesman. Upon giving an affirmative answer 
Kirkwood was asked to take a seat in the hay- 
rack. Thereupon the driver put "the butt 
without mercy to the oxen, and at a break-neck 
speed up hill and down they rode into town." 

The result was all that could be desired. A 
band met the party on the outskirts of the town, 
and boys and men of all political parties joined 
in the procession as it proceeded through the 
streets, wdiile cheer after cheer went up for the 
farmer candidate who looked and felt perfectly 
in place on his rustic vehicle. Shortly after- 
ward Dodge, in the shining carriage drawn by 
the dashing white horses, came riding into town 
and made a turn or two about the public square. 
The effect was indeed striking, but the crowd 
had yelled itself hoarse on Kirkwood 's arrival 



CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR 141 

and had little breath left with which to cheer 
his opponent. 

Before the speaking began two men in the 
crowd engaged in "the interesting occupation 
of bruising each other's faces"; and later dur- 
ing the discussion one of the participants, in his 
drunkenness "propounded sundry oblivious 
questions" to Kirkwood. Tiring of these inter- 
ruptions the speaker finally cut him short by 
remarking that "he was moved by the spirit of 
democracy."-""' 

The editor of a local paper, in describing the 
debate at Washington, had sufficient independ- 
ence to state that "both men bore themselves 
with gentlemanly courtesy" and to designate as 
"mere fulminations of party editors, and the 
buncomb of political wire pullers" all the 
stories about "immense swaggering, towering 
passions and grandiloquent bombast on the one 
hand, and dirty blackguardism, stupendous 
lying and consummate demagoguism on the 
other ".2« 5 

For at least two weeks the contest was con- 
tinued, during which time the people of Iowa 
City, Newton, Tipton, Anamosa, Maquoketa, 
Dubuque, Davenport, Muscatine, Wapello, Fair- 
field, and other towns heard Kirkwood and 
Dodge debate the political issues of the day.-'**' 
At every opportunity Kirkwood was glad to 
converse with the citizens of the communities 



142 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

which he visited. It is said that he 'Svould sit 
about in his shirt-sleeves, smoking a cob-pipe 
and discussing the raising of steers with the 
grangers, which is possible, and perhaps true; 
but at the same time it is stated by those who 
listened to the debates that he proved himself 
superior in logic, force, and effectiveness to his 
courtly opponent. "^*^^ 

During the last three weeks before the elec- 
tion Kirkwood made a final, flying trip on his 
own account. Beginning at Fort Madison on 
September 20th, he proceeded by boat up the 
river. He was scheduled to speak at Burling- 
ton, McGregor, and other points in eastern 
Iowa until he reached Lansing. From thence he 
was to turn west and swing around the circle, 
visiting Waukon, Decorah, Independence, Wa- 
terloo, Vinton, Cedar Rapids, Marengo, Toledo, 
Marshalltown, and intermediate towns, closing 
his campaign at Eldora on October 8th. When- 
ever possible he spoke twice a day, at different 
places — first at one o 'clock and again at seven 
— and the political speeches of that day seldom, 
if ever, occupied less than two hours. A vigor- 
ous constitution was a prime requisite in a 
campaign such as this, especially when most of 
the traveling must be done in a stage-coach or 
open buggy in all sorts of weather.-*^^ 

There was one interruption in this strenuous 
program. Mrs. Kirkwood, who was always 



CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR 143 

keenly interested in whatever her husband was 
doing and whose company he greatly desired at 
all possible times, started out with him on this 
tour. But before going far she was taken ill 
and they both returned to Iowa City, where 
after a few days Mr. Kirkwood was forced to 
leave her, convalescent, and return to his 
appointments.^*^'' 

The long campaign at last came to a close, 
and on October 11, 1859, the people of Iowa 
were called upon to choose the man who should 
be their next Governor. No voting-machines 
automatically counted the votes in those days, 
and no telegraph flashed the election returns 
from every little hamlet and voting precinct; 
and so it was many days and even weeks before 
the exact result was known. Then it was found 
that Samuel J. Kirkwood was elected Governor 
of Iowa by a majority of 3170 votes over 
Augustus Caesar Dodge.- ^" 



XIII 

First Inaugural 

"You have got a difficult task before you for 
two years to navigate the ship of State without 
a cent of money", were the discouraging words 
written to Kirkwood by James W. Grimes 
shortly after the election results became known. 
"There is now due to the State from the sev- 
eral Counties between three and four hundred 
thousand dollars, and no taxes will be paid this 
year, for there is no money in the country to 
pay with. The government has got to be car- 
ried on principally upon credit. You must put 
on your thinking cap and begin to devise the 
ways and means of doing it. We must abolish 
our present County system & give the people a 
chance to govern themselves a little more than 
they do under the county judge system. . . . 
Send the county judges to purgatory. "-^^ 

No doubt Samuel J. Kirkwood followed the 
advice of his friend and wore his "thinking 
cap ' ' much of the time between his election and 
his inauguration as Governor of Iowa, for he 
regarded public office as a trust to be taken 
seriously. There is also evidence that during 

144 



FIRST INAUGURAL 145 

these months his thoughts turned frequently 
from the tasks set before him as Chief Execu- 
tive to the great national problem of slavery. 
He was among those who believed in the plan of 
colonizing the free negroes in some part of 
South or Central America; and he wrote to 
Frank P. Blair expressing his views on that 
subject, Blair was enthusiastic in his response. 
"If Iowa shall take the first step in this great 
scheme," he said, "she will be justly entitled to 
[the] title of the leader of the hosts of freedom 
— and of carrying into practice the long cher- 
ished plans of Mr. Jefferson. "^^^ A week later 
James R. Doolittle wrote from Racine, Wis- 
consin, urging Kirkwood to take a decisive 
stand in favor of the "great Jeffersonian plan" 
in his inaugural address to the legislature.-^^ 

Less patriotic and unselfish, but typical of the 
political spoilsman, was a letter received by 
Kirkwood late in November from William H. 
Bigelow who wanted assistance to launch a 
Republican newspaper at Sioux City. "Please 
allow us to draw on you for $25 & give you no 
further trouble", was his modest request.- ^^ 

The first week in January, 1860, found Kirk- 
wood in Des Moines, ready to perform the 
duties incumbent upon him during the session 
of the Eighth General Assembly which con- 
vened on the ninth day of the month. Two days 
later the two houses of the legislature met in 

11 



146 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

joint convention and, after canvassing the votes 
for Governor and Lieutenant Governor and dis- 
posing of the necessary preliminaries, declared 
themselves in readiness for the inauguration. 
Thereupon ''Senator Anderson was called to 
the Chair, after which His Excellency the Gov- 
ernor and Lieut. Governor, together with the 
Governor and Lieut. Governor elect, accom- 
panied by the Chief and Associate Judges of 
the Supreme Court and their successors in 
office, and the other officers of State, entered the 
Hall and were seated." The oath of office was 
then administered by Chief Justice George G. 
Wright and Governor Kirkwood delivered his 
inaugural address.^ ^^ 

Without wasting time either in paying com- 
pliments or making promises, he first suggested 
that the General Assembly, under the Consti- 
tution of the State, should interfere as little as 
possible with the State Board of Education in 
its administration of the public school system. 
Turning to the subject of elections, he declared 
that "in a government like ours, without privi- 
leged classes, and where the laws atfect all 
alike, we need not fear that a majority of our 
people will deliberately pursue a policy in- 
tended to operate injuriously upon the public 
welfare, because by so doing they would be act- 
ing contrary to their own best interests. . . . 
But if through fraud or violence, the ballot box 



FIRST INAUGURAL 147 

shall cease to report to us correctly and hon- 
estly the will of the majority; if corrupt and 
interested men are enabled to substitute their 
will for that of the people, then the assurance 
of safety derived to us from the honesty, the 
intelligence, and the interest of the people, no 
longer exists. . . . We can not, therefore, 
guard with too much care, the sanctity and 
purity of the ballot box. In my opinion, there 
is no measure so well calculated to effect this 
object, as a carefully prepared and well guarded 
registry law; and I respectfully recommend 
that measure to your consideration." 

The institutions for the care of the insane 
and the mute and the blind, the penitentiary, the 
State University, and the newly created Agri- 
cultural College were all commended to the 
favorable consideration of the legislature. The 
Governor advised changes in the method of 
managing the permanent school fund of the 
State, and suggested a revision of the revenue 
laws. At the same time he warned the legis- 
lators to practice ''as close and rigid an econ- 
omy in the matter of appropriations as is 
consistent with a proper administration of the 
affairs of the State. The scarcity of money, 
consequent upon the financial revulsion of 1857, 
and the failure of our crops, to a great extent 
since that time, has caused the payment of the 
taxes necessary to the support of our govern- 



148 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

ment, to be felt as a sensible burden by our 
people". 

Having briefly summarized the most pressing 
demands for action on the part of the General 
Assembly, the new Governor of Iowa could not 
refrain from discussing the event which had 
stirred the Nation to its depths — ' ' the late un- 
lawful invasion" of Virginia by John Brown 
and his associates. He found in "that mad 
attempt ' ' the logical fruitage of the policy pur- 
sued by the pro-slavery propagandists. In 1820 
and again in 1850 a settlement had been made, 
and "our people fondly hoped that for a long 
period of time, this vexed and irritating ques- 
tion would be kept out of our national councils, 
and that the angry and embittered feelings 
always arising from its discussion, would then 
die out for want of food." But this hope had 
been rudely dashed to the ground by the pas- 
sage of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill. There had 
ensued a reign of bloodshed in Kansas, accom- 
panied by filibustering expeditions in Cuba and 
Nicaragua — the latter with the consent and 
even the encouragement of a large number of 
our people. 

"Is it strange", asked Governor Kirkwood, 
"that the bare promulgation of these doctrines, 
acting upon the minds of men maddened by the 
recollection of wrongs inflicted upon them in 
Kansas because of their love of freedom, should 



FIRST INAUGURAL 149 

lead them to the conclusion that they should do 
and dare as much at home for liberty, as those 
who have oppressed them are doing abroad for 
slavery? It seems to me most natural, and 
while I deeply deplore and most unqualifiedly 
condemn, I cannot wonder at the recent unfor- 
tunate and bloody occurrence at Harper's 
Ferry. But while we may not wonder at, we 
must condemn it. It was an act of war — of 
war against brethren, and in that a greater 
crime than the invaders of Cuba and Nicaragua 
were guilty of; relieved to some extent of its 
guilt, in the minds of many, by the fact that the 
blow was struck for freedom, and not for 
slavery. ' ' 

At the same time the people of the South 
made a great mistake when they asserted that 
the people of the North approved the assault on 
Harper's Ferry. "While the great mass of our 
northern people utterly condemn the act of 
John Brown, they feel and they express admi- 
ration and sympathy for the disinterestedness 
of purpose by which they believe he was gov- 
erned, and for the unflinching courage and calm 
cheerfulness with which he met the conse- 
quences of his failure. Many, very many, of 
our northern people, felt deep sympathy for the 
gallant Crittenden, who died so bravely in Cuba, 
for an act they strongly condemned; and the 
tears of many of the best and bravest of our 



150 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

revolutionary sires bedewed the grave of 
Andre, who, by their own judgment, died the 
death of a spy, his sentence approved by Wash- 
ington. " 

Then, as if to justify his wandering beyond 
the field of State policies, Governor Kirkwood 
remarked : " I cannot concur in the opinion ex- 
pressed by some persons, that the constituted 
authorities of the States of this Union have dis- 
charged their entire duty, when they have 
looked to and cared for their own internal 
affairs, and that they travel out of their legiti- 
mate sphere when they in any manner concern 
themselves with the affairs of our General 
Government. The several States, as such, are 
the constituents of one branch of the National 
Congress, and if it be true that the constituent 
may and should concern himself with what is 
done by his representative, it must be true that 
each State may and should concern herself with 
the actions of that General Government of 
which her representatives are a part". In line 
with this view the Governor proceeded to rec- 
ommend that the legislature memorialize Con- 
gress in favor of the Homestead Bill, the 
Pacific Railroad Bill, and the plan for col- 
onizing the free negroes in South or Central 
America. 

In spite of all the dangers which threatened 
the Nation, however. Governor Kirkwood still 



FIRST INAUGURAL 151 

retained his optimism and his hope for a peace- 
ful settlement. "In conclusion," he declared, 
"permit me to say that, although our political 
horizon is not unclouded, although anger and 
jealousy have to some extent taken the place of 
brotherly kindness and good will among our 
people, . . . still, in my opinion, those who 
love our Constitution and our Union, have not 
very great cause for alarm. Passion will sub- 
side, reason will resume its sway, and then our 
southern brethren will discover that they have 
been deceived and misled, as to our feelings and 
purposes ; . . . and that the good old ways 
wherein we walked, when to talk of disunion 
openly, or to approve it silently, was to incur 
the scorn due a traitor, are ways of pleasant- 
ness, and that the good old paths our fathers 
taught us to tread, are paths of peace. And 
they .... will again pledge themselves 
as we to-day pledge ourselves in the full depth 
and force of its meaning to the sentiment of the 
true and stern old patriot of the Hermitage — 
'The Union — it must and shall be pre- 
served.' "^^^ 

Governor Kirkwood's inaugural address was 
received with approval, though without great 
enthusiasm, by the Republicans of the State. 
The editor of The Iowa Citizen considered it 
* ' a fair exposition of the sentiments he has pro- 
claimed in every portion of the State, and a 



152 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

truthful exhibit of the views of the party to 
which he belongs ; so far as it has a party char- 
acter. " ^ ' His remarks on the John Brown mat- 
ter are satisfactory", wrote a correspondent to 
the New York Tribune, "and are all that could 
be expected from a Marylander by birth; a 
Democrat by association up to 1854, and a suc- 
cessful canvasser before the people. . . . 
His sentiments, I think, are reflective of the 
tone of feeling in the northwest in the Repub- 
lican party. "-^" 

The Democrats were not so calm in express- 
ing their disapproval of the address. It was de- 
nounced in long editorials in the newspapers; 
vigorous speeches were made in the Greneral 
Assembly against the resolution to print the 
address; and twenty Senators and thirty-four 
Representatives signed their names to solemn 
protests which were spread upon the journals 
of the two houses of the legislature. These 
protests, which were identical in content, op- 
posed the printing of the Governor's address 
on six grounds — the central theme of which 
was that the chief executive had gone out of his 
way to discuss partisan doctrines which had no 
relation to the duties of the legislature. Be- 
sides, it was the belief of those who signed the 
remonstrances that "the dissemination of the 
sentiments contained in said message, tends to 
kindle anew that blind fanaticism. North and 



FIRST INAUGURAL 153 

South, which has already shaken the founda- 
tions of the Union, and threatens to blast the 
brightest hopes of every true friend of Amer- 
ican Liberty. "-^^ 

It was characteristic of Kirkwood that in the 
midst of official duties and partisan contro- 
versies he did not lose his keen interest in the 
welfare of his friends and the members of his 
own family. On January 29th he took the time 
to write a long, fatherly letter to his nephew, 
Samuel Kirkwood Clark, who had lived with 
Mr. and Mrs. Kirkwood most of the time since 
his infancy and was regarded by them with all 
the affection they would have bestowed upon a 
son. ''When your father was here", wrote the 
Governor, "he related to me a conversation he 
had had with your teacher which gave me great 
pleasure." The teacher had praised young 
Clark for his gentlemanly deportment and his 
diligence as a student, and had described him 
as being a leader among his fellows. After 
expressing his gratification at such a good 
report, Governor Kirkwood sounded a note of 
warning. "You must not allow yourself to 
become proud and overbearing. You must not 
use your position to put down any one who is 
weaker than yourself, either mentally or physi- 
cally, but rather to support and defend such — 
in short, you must use your influence to see that 
'the right' is done at all times and under all 



154 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

circumstances, and you must not allow any- 
thing to make you flinch from seeing it done. 
You must not be quarrelsome. Avoid all per- 
sonal difficulties, if possible, but if compelled to 
engage in such, then so bear yourself that your 
adversary will not wish to come in contact with 
you again." 

On the subject of smoking he was not dis- 
posed to scold his nephew, but he advised him 
to make a thorough investigation of the effects 
of the habit and then determine his course 
accordingly. ''I send you a copy of my in- 
augural address", he said in conclusion, "It is 
praised by some of my party friends and 
denounced by some of my party enemies. You 
are neither one or the other. Write me just 
what you think about it. Write me what you 
think about all these things. Take your time to 
do so, half a dozen evenings if necessary, and a 
half a dozen sheets of paper, if necessary. I 
will read it all. You are at entire liberty to 
show this to your father, if you want to talk 
about it with him, and I think it w^ould be well 
for you to do so. He may help you to read it ; 
perhaps his help may be necessary. "^^^ 



XIV 

Governor During a Year of Peace 

The inaugural address and the sentiments 
therein set forth were soon forgotten,--*^ for 
within two weeks there was furnished a more 
tangible opportunity for partisan controversy. 
On the morning of January 23rd there appeared 
at the Governor's office in Des Moines a man by 
the name of C. Camp, "bearing requisition 
papers directed to the Governor of Iowa for 
one Barclay Coppoc, reputed to be a fugitive 
from the justice of Virginia. "^^^ 

The events which led up to this request make 
a long story. When on his journeys to and 
from Kansas, John Brown had several times 
passed through Iowa and had made many 
friends and acquaintances, especially in the 
quiet Quaker village of Springdale in Cedar 
County. In this peaceful community the little 
band of oddly assorted characters who made up 
Brown's band spent the winter of 1857-1858, 
and here their leader matured his plans for a 
last attack upon the hated institution of slavery. 
To none of the inhabitants of the village did the 
warlike demeanor and aims of the men appeal 

155 



156 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

more strongly than to two boys by the names of 
Edwin and Barclay Coppoc, They apparently 
oiTered their services to Brown, for when the 
snmmons came in July, 1859, they were quick to 
respond, in spite of the protests of their mother 
and their friends. Edwin Coppoc was captured 
in the ill-fated raid on Harper's Ferry and was 
later hung by Virginia authorities. His 
brother, Barclay, who had remained across the 
river in Maryland to help guard the base of 
supplies, escaped and, after a desperate flight 
through the mountains of Pennsylvania and 
across the Mississippi Valley, came at last to 
his home in Springdale. It was the demand of 
the Grovernor of Virginia for the return of 
Barclay Coppoc that now confronted Governor 
Kirkwood. 

He received the Virginia emissary courte- 
ously, but requested that the papers be left with 
him until after dinner in order that he might 
have time to examine them carefully and make 
an intelligent reply. When Mr. Camp returned 
at the appointed time in the afternoon he "was 
met with a refusal to honor the requisition. . . 
. . The agent, considerably surprised and no 
doubt much nettled, undertook by dint of argai- 
ment to convince the Governor that he was 
wrong, unjust, and incidentally guilty of per- 
verting the letter of the Federal Constitution 
and the statutes of Congress." So excited and 



FIRST YEAR AS GOVERNOR 157 

indiscreet did the Virginian become that certain 
members of the legislature, who chanced to 
enter the Governor's office during the course of 
the discussion, readily discovered his mission. 
Within two hours a man on horseback was 
making all speed eastward toward Springdale, 
one hundred and thirty-five miles away, to warn 
Barclay Coppoc of his danger. 

The reasons for Governor Kirkwood's re- 
fusal to honor the requisition were no doubt 
fully explained to Mr. Camp, as they were also 
set forth in two letters written immediately to 
Governor Letcher of Virginia. A few days 
later these reasons were summarized as follows 
in a communication to the House of Repre- 
sentatives of Iowa : 

1st — The affidavit presented, was not made before 
"a magistrate," but before a Notary Public. 

2d — Even had the law recognized an affidavit made 
before a Notary Public, the affidavit in this case was 
not authenticated by the Notary's seal. 

3d — The affidavit does not show, unless it be 
inferentially, that Coppoc was in the State of Vir- 
ginia at the time he "aided and abetted John Brown 
and others," as stated therein. 

4th — It did not legally ' ' charge him ' ' with com- 
mission of "treason, felony or other crime." 

A careful review of the constitutional and 
legal aspects of the case, in the light of numer- 
ous court decisions, reveals the fact that 



158 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

Samuel J. Kirkwood was justified in his refusal 
to honor the demand for the return of Barclay 
Coppoc for all the reasons which he cited, ex- 
cept the first. "With only one ground for 
refusal ill-founded — while the remaining three 
are sustained as points well taken — we may 
note a clarity of legal perception united with a 
strength of conviction which did not permit the 
inflamed sectionalism of the South nor the rabid 
partisanship of the North to dictate his course 
of action." 

It could not be expected, however, that the 
people of Iowa or of Virginia in 1860 would be 
able to pass a calm, impartial judgment upon 
an action wdiich touched so closely the great 
issue of partisan and sectional strife. Iowa 
newspapers found in the incident the materials 
necessary for a first-rate editorial controversy. 
The Virginia point of view was fully enunciated 
by Governor John Letcher in a communication 
to the Senate and House of Delegates of that 
Commonwealth. He characterized the reasons 
assigned by Governor Kirkwood for his refusal 
to honor the requisition as "exceedingly frivol- 
ous ". " The course of the governor in this mat- 
ter," he said, "considered in connection with 
the views presented in his inaugural message in 
relation to the occurrences and actors in the 
Harpers Ferry outrage, force upon my mind 
the conclusion that his action was taken, if not 



FIRST YEAR AS GOVERNOR 159 

with the intention of permitting Coppoc to 
escape, and thus shield [ing] him from just 
punishment, for crimes of the most serious and 
aggravated character, . . . yet with a cer- 
tainty that it must have that effect." He also 
took occasion to declare that the ' ' denial of this 
requisition, and numerous other evidences of 
unfriendly feeling w^liich are being exhibited 
daily by a large portion of the northern people, 
and their representative men, towards the south 
and the institution of domestic slavery, ought 
to impress upon us the necessity of adopting 
prompt, energetic and decided measures to pro- 
tect our rights, secure direct trade, establish 
manufactures, and thus achieve southern inde- 
pendence. ' ' 

Nevertheless, corrected requisition papers 
were in due time forwarded to Governor Kirk- 
wood. But again the "justice of Virginia" was 
cheated of its victim, this time by the flight of 
Barclay Coppoc from his home at Springdale. 

Ordinarily this would have closed the affair 
as far as the Governor of Iowa was concerned, 
but the members of the opposition party had 
not exhausted the opportunities for the manu- 
facture of political capital which the episode 
seemed to present. And so the controversy was 
transferred from the press to the General As- 
sembly. On February 27, 1860, Senator James 
F. Wilson introduced a resolution, altogether 



160 SAMUEL J. KIKKWOOD 

friendly in purpose, calling upon Governor 
Kirkwood for information relative to the 
Coppoc case. Little interest was manifested in 
this resolution until it was discovered that sev- 
eral Republican members of the Senate were 
absent from their seats. Senator Neal then 
suddenly introduced an amendment which spe- 
cifically requested the Governor "to inform the 
Senate by what means Coppoc obtained the 
information that there was a requisition from 
the Governor of Virginia upon the Governor of 
Iowa, for his surrender; and if the fact of said 
requisition being made, was communicated to 
any person, or made public, before the answer 
was given by the Governor of Iowa, to the Gov- 
ernor of Virginia." The Democrats had con- 
trol of the Senate for the time being and they 
were able to rush this accusatory amendment to 
its final passage in spite of the angry protests 
of the Republican Senators. 

Governor Kirkwood was equal to the occa- 
sion. On the following day he sent a carefully 
worded reply to the Senate. "I readily admit 
the propriety of giving to the public full infor- 
mation on this subject," he said, "and shall 
promptly communicate all facts within my 
knowledge, in any way connected therewith,, 
whenever I can do so consistently with my self- 
respect, and with the respect and consideration 
which, in my judgment, are due to the depart- 



FIRST YEAR AS GOVERNOR 161 

ment of our government which, for the time 
being, I have the honor to represent. I cannot, 
however, do so in response to a resolution which 
assumes that, in this matter, I have done acts 
which the common judgment of your body 
would pronounce to be improper in any person 
holding my official position." 

Such an assumption the Governor declared to 
be ''utterly unfounded" and one which he could 
neither ''respond to or deny, without admitting, 
by implication, that the suggestion thereof was 
authorized by the facts of the case." There- 
fore, since he w^as convinced that the resolution 
of inquiry "took its present objectionable form 
through oversight and inadvertence", he re- 
turned "said resolution" to the Senate in order 
that that body might "have the opportunity of 
giving it further consideration. ' ' 

This communication threw the burden of 
proof back upon the Democratic members of 
the Senate, who were not slow to realize their 
mistake. They would have been glad to pass a 
resolution of apology, but their Republican col- 
leagues took delight in thwarting their efforts 
along this line. While all this was going on in 
the Senate, the members of the House of Repre- 
sentatives likewise became interested, and after 
some debate a very respectful resolution was 
adopted asking the Governor to submit full 
information relative to the Coppoc case. To 

12 



162 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

this request the Governor responded with a 
lengthy communication giving a detailed ac- 
count of the whole transaction, accompanied by 
copies of all the correspondence bearing on the 
case. Discussion now ceased and the episode 
was soon forgotten. 

Meanwhile, Governor Kirkwood did not neg- 
lect the social duties of his position;-^- nor did 
he lose interest in the affairs of the mill and 
farm near Iowa City. Mrs. Kirkwood and two 
of her nieces were with him in Des Moines. "I 
see that you atine [attend] many partys, one 
most every night", wrote Valentine Miller, the 
faithful manager of the Coralville mill. "Mr. 
Kirkwood you Mrs. Kirkwood and the girls 
must try to learne to dance, so that we can have 
a good one when you come home. I will see for 
to have a good musiche. " He then proceeded 
to give the Governor an account of conditions 
at the mill and to advise that the wall along the 
flume be rebuilt.-^ ^ 

A few weeks later Ezekiel Clark wrote to his 
brother-in-law saying that the mill was running 
and "earning some money", and declaring his 
"dislike to arange to have any person come on 
the farm for fear they will not be just such as 
you would approve." "I start tomorrow to 
Chicago with Cattle", he continued, "and am 
fearful we will meet a hard market but I am 
satisfied we will make money on our Cattle we 
are feeding."--^ 



FIRST YEAR AS GOVERNOR 163 

During March and April, 1860, Samuel J. 
Kirkwood transmitted to the proper branches 
of the legislature four out of the six veto mes- 
sages of his career as Governor of Iowa. In 
each instance he stated the reasons for his dis- 
approval clearly and at length, with the result 
that none of the bills were passed over his 
veto.^^^ Among the special messages of this 
period were three relating to Indian depreda- 
tions in Woodbury and Cherokee Counties, in 
consequence of which a law was passed author- 
izing the Governor to organize a company of 
"minute men" for the protection of the north- 
western frontier of the State.^-^ 

The Eighth General Assembly of Iowa ad- 
journed sine die on the third day of April. 
Soon afterward Governor Kirkwood and the 
members of his household returned to Iowa 
City. ''A call from his Excellency .... 
on Monday last," commented the editor of the 
Iowa Weekly Republican, ''did not so forcibly 
remind us that a Governor was again in our 
midst, as it reminded us that a plain, every day 
citizen, beloved by his neighbors and respected 
by every body, was again returned to his home, 
mingling as of yore, among all classes of his 
fellow-citizens, extending to each a friendly 
grasp, and exchanging congratulations of 
friendship and good cheer ... he evinces 
none of the ' wear and tear ' incident to political 



164 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

station. He informed us that he was weighing 
a few more avoirdupois pounds than at any 
other period of his life. "^^'^ 

By this time the thoughts of the people of 
Iowa, as of the Nation at large, were turning 
more and more to the forthcoming National Re- 
publican Convention which was to convene at 
Chicago on May 16th. All thinking persons 
realized that weighty issues hung upon the 
choice of a candidate for the Presidency made 
by that convention, and they were deeply inter- 
ested in the outcome. 

Samuel J. Kirkwood did not follow the advice 
offered by Senator Grimes in a letter written 
late in December, 1859. "You ought to be one 
of the delegates & I hope you will see to it that 
you are appointed", urged the Senator.-^^ 
Neither did the Governor take seriously the 
suggestion made through the press by Josiah 
B. Grinnell that Kirkwood 's name should be 
brought forward by the Iowa delegation as a 
candidate for Vice President.^^*^ Nevertheless, 
he did take a keen interest in the convention; 
and while he was not one of the delegates from 
Iowa, he was among the large number of "vol- 
unteers" who journeyed to Chicago to attend 
the convention and use their influence in sup- 
port of the candidate of their choice.^^*^ 

"I take it for granted you will be in Chicago 
during the session of the Republican Conven- 



FIRST YEAR AS GOVERNOR 165 

tion next month, and I write to say that Mrs. 
Farnam & myself will be most happy to see 
yourself & Mrs. Kirkwood at our house during 
that time." This was the invitation received 
by Governor Kirkwood late in April from 
Henry Farnam, president of the Chicago and 
Rock Island Railroad Company. "Enclosed is 
a Pass for yourself & Lady which please use at 
your pleasure — my House is 163 Michigan 
Av.", was the information contained in a post- 
script.^^ ^ 

From a personal standpoint Kirkwood found 
himself somewhat divided in his sympathies for 
several candidates for the nomination. He had 
warm recollections of the old days in Ohio 
when he and Salmon P. Chase had both been 
members of the Democratic party. William H. 
Seward, he felt, had a strong claim to the nomi- 
nation, for the reason that he had long been the 
"best abused man" in the Republican party. 
But especially was he attracted by the person- 
ality and doctrines of Abraham Lincoln, whom 
he regarded as the most logical and promising 
candidate, and to whom in the end he gave his 
whole-hearted support.^^- 

Optimism was at a low ebb at the Lincoln 
headquarters in Chicago as the large New York 
and other eastern delegations poured into the 
city and the great strength of Seward, backed 
by the confident expectations of a majority of 



166 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

the Republicans throughout the country, be- 
came more and more apparent. ''Anxiety and 
depression" among the followers of the Lincoln 
banner were "general and obvious. They slept 
scarcely at all, they were so fearful and active. ' ' 
The gloom which hung over the camp is well 
illustrated by the words of one of the Iowa 
delegates to the convention. ''Early in the 
evening of the night before the nomination was 
to be made," said he, "I had gone up to my 
room to get some rest. I was fagged by the 
long strain of the day. The outlook for Lincoln 
was gloomy, indeed. I recall [Alvin] Saunders 
coming in. He was depressed and dubious 
about our chances of overcoming the New 
Yorkers. Kirkwood came in later. He was 
nervous and very uneasy and glum. "^^^ 

Great was the joy of these men on the mor- 
row when all opposition was overcome and 
their candidate was finally nominated. Samuel 
J. Kirkwood was only one of many lowans who, 
in and out of the convention, labored in behalf 
of the "rail-splitter"; and it has been said that 
his influence was not without weight in winning 
members of the Ohio delegation over to 
Lincoln.-^'* 

Hopes of victory, because of the division in 
the ranks of the Democratic party, now inspired 
Republican leaders to an enthusiastic campaign. 
Throughout the months from May to November 



FIRST YEAR AS GOVERNOR 167 

Governor Kirkwood gave as generously of his 
time as official duties would permit, speaking 
many times in Iowa City and vicinity and fre- 
quently at more distant points.-^ ^ Especially 
was he urged to be at the great rally in Des 
Moines on August 4tli. "I hope you may be 
able to go", wrote Senator Harlan. "I can not 
on account of a previous engagement — Grimes 
can not on account of bad health. Unless you 
go there is danger of failure. "-^*^ At the little 
town of Williamsburg on August 11th over 
three thousand people marched in a parade 
headed by the ' ' Wide Awakes ' ' from Iowa City, 
while the Marengo delegation was led by a 
'^Sax horn band". ''A bountiful dinner was 
spread for the whole crowd [of five thousand 
people], by the munificence of the farmers. 
. . . Governor Kirkwood spoke two hours, 
making, as he always does, a masterly argu- 
ment. ' ^-^"^ 

Late in August Mr. Le Grand Byington, a 
prominent Democratic citizen of Iowa City, 
through the press challenged Governor Kirk- 
wood to a series of joint debates in the counties 
lying south of the present Rock Island Railroad. 
It seems that Mr. Byington had some business 
to transact in this particular region, and so he 
suggested that there should be an interval of 
forty-eight hours between each of the meetings 
outside of Keokuk. At the same time he took 



168 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

occasion to outline his views in regard to the 
policies of the Whig, Republican, and Demo- 
cratic parties. 

On September 3rd Governor Kirkwood wrote 
a reply which he made public through the press. 
"Of the Whig party I have only this to say", 
he declared. "It is not a living organization. 
The time has not come to write its history, nor 
is either of us its proper historian. Its name 
and the names of the statesmen and soldiers it 
has given our country will be cherished in our 
State, when your name and mine will be for- 
gotten. The Republican party is a living 
organization. You either misunderstand or 
misrepresent its purposes and history." 

"I may not properly understand what you 
mean by the assertion that Mr. Lincoln 'ac- 
knowledges his obligation' to the higher law," 
continued the Governor, "but if you mean that 
if he shall find himself commanded by the law 
of man to do or not to do an act under penalty, 
the doing or not doing of which is expressly 
prohibited to or enjoined upon him by the law 
of God, he will, in such case, 'obey God rather 
than man,' and suffer patiently what penalty 
man's law may inflict, I hope you define his 
position truly." He told Mr. Byington he was 
somewhat in error in declaring himself a Demo- 
crat. "You are a Douglasite and not a Demo- 
crat", he said. Then stating his own position. 



FIRST YEAR AS GOVERNOR 169 

he declared that he could not "accept the teach- 
ings of the new men of the Democratic party 
who deny to Congress" the power to prohibit 
slavery in the Territories. On the other hand, 
he said, "I can and do cordially sympathize and 
act with the Republican party; which while 
earnestly deprecating and opposing the exten- 
sion of Slavery into free territory, seeks to 
use no means to that end, not sanctioned by the 
fathers of the Constitution and the Union." 

Finally, referring to the challenge to debate, 
Governor Kirkwood said: "I very much regret 
that I cannot accept it. My entire time for the 
next two weeks is already engaged." He also 
had many appointments after that time in 
widely scattered portions of the State. Besides 
he did not wish to confine himself to the region 
indicated in the challenge, nor was he willing 
"to waste so much time" as the proposed inter- 
vals between meetings would involve.-^^ 

Nevertheless, Governor Kirkwood and Le 
Grand Byington did meet in joint debate in the 
courthouse in Iowa City on October 26th. Mr, 
Byington opened the discussion with a speech 
one hour in length, after which the Governor 
was allowed one hour and a half in which to 
reply; and then Mr. Byington closed the debate 
in a short speech. "The large Court Room was 
crowded to its utmost capacity", commented a 
Republican editor. "Good order was preserved 



170 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

and the Republican cause suffered not the loss 
of a single drop of blood by the spear of the 
tilted knight of the Democracy, Ye valient Le 
Grand — Byington. "^^^ 

At the end of the long campaign Mr. Kirk- 
wood had the satisfaction of knowing that his 
labors had not been in vain. His party was 
victorious — Abraham Lincoln would be the 
next President of the United States. ''Permit 
me to congratulate you," he hastened to write 
to the man whose hands he was to uphold so 
faithfully through three years of trial, ''and I 
most heartily do, upon the result of the recent 
Presidential election, and to express the earnest 
hope, that your administration may prove as 
useful to our country and as honorable to your- 
self, as you yourself can desire."-**^ 

Meanwhile the Governor of Iowa had many 
official functions to perform, though he was not 
as yet required by law to keep his office at the 
capital of the State during the time when the 
legislature was not in session. In May he vis- 
ited Mt. Pleasant and Fort Madison for the 
purpose of conferring with the authorities and 
investigating the condition of the Insane 
Asylum and the Penitentiary .^^^ A month later 
he appointed George G. Wright to fill the 
vacancy in the Supreme Court occasioned by 
the death of Justice L. D. Stockton.-^- His 
continued interest in agriculture and in the wel- 



FIRST YEAR AS GOVERNOR 171 

fare of the farmers was evidenced when, in 
July, he ''issued a circular to County Judges 
and others, advising them to see that foreign 
cattle are not introduced into the County Fairs ; 
and to take such steps as they may deem ad- 
visable to prevent the introduction of eastern 
cattle into this State until the disease that has 
proved so fatal in Massachusetts disappears." 
Especially did he advise the careful watching of 
all the ferries and railroads by which cattle 
might be transported into lowa.^^^ Late in 
August he saw fit to pardon one William Latta, 
who was imprisoned in the penitentiary for 
counterfeiting, and thereby he called forth a 
vituperative newspaper attack from the pen of 
the eccentric Henry Clay Dean.^^^ 

On October 17th Governor Kirkwood issued 
his first Thanksgiving Day proclamation, urg- 
ing the people of Iowa on that day to ''abstain 
from all secular business, and devote the day to 
the service of Him, whose favor is the only 
support and bulwark of States and Nations. "^^^ 
Five days later he wrote a long letter to the 
Secretary of the Interior, which he hoped was 
not intrusive, interceding in behalf of the set- 
tlers on the "Des Moines Eiver Lands ".--^^ A 
few weeks later he received notice from William 
Duane Wilson that the regular annual meeting 
of the Board of Trustees of the Agricultural 
College would be held on January 5, 1861. 



172 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

''Those of the members who come by this city 
[Des Moines]," wrote Mr. Wilson, "who desire, 
will be taken by Mr. Bolton's Nevada Stage on 
Friday to the College Farm direct, and he w^ill 
reconvey them from there to this city on the 
following Tuesday. Fare for round trip $3."^^^ 
Along with the requirements of politics and 
the duties of office, the distinction attached to 
his position brought to Governor Kirkwood 
many other demands upon his time and atten- 
tion. "I am a young man just trying to decide 
on an occupation for life and I would like your 
edict on choices of occupation", wrote an 
earnest youth from Denmark in Lee County. 
Some time later Mr. Kirkwood was notified of 
his election as a member of the Visiting Com- 
mittee of Cornell College at Mt. Vernon. 
Throughout the summer he received invitations 
to attend county fairs, agricultural exhibits, 
and horse shows ; while on September 4th there 
came a letter calling his attention "as the en- 
lightened friend of mechanical agricultural 
progress, to a new patent plow". In his cor- 
respondence for this year there is a certificate 
of honorary membership in the "Cosmopolitan 
Art Association of New York", as well as a 
receipt for the sum of three dollars in payment 
for an engraving of "Falstaff Mustering his 
Recruits ' '. In December he was reelected presi- 
dent of the State Historical Societv of lowa.-^^ 



XV 

The Crisis 

There was little tranquillity in the minds of 
thoughtful men at the opening of the year 1861. 
Events were tending rapidly in the direction of 
civil conflict. The prospect was dark and 
gloomy. On December 20, 1860, South Carolina 
seceded from the Union, thus setting an ex- 
ample which was soon follow^ed by six other 
southern States. 

The year wiiicli had elapsed since Samuel J. 
Kirkwood delivered his inaugural address to 
the Iowa legislature had witnessed a gradual 
undermining of his confidence in a peaceful 
settlement between North and South. '*It 
really appears to me", he wrote to Grimes on 
January 12, 1861, "as if our Southern friends 
are determined on the destruction of our Grov- 
ernment unless they can change its whole basis, 
and make it a government for the growth and 
spread of slavery. The real point of contro- 
versy is in regard to slavery in the Territories. 
On that point I would be willing to go thus far : 
Restore the question of slavery in our present 
territories to the position to which it was placed 

173 



174 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

by the compromise measures of 1850. . . . 
The whole country agreed to do this once, and 
therefore could do so again." He then pro- 
posed a plan which would not require any 
abandonment of principle on either side. 

"But", he continued, "at all hazards the 
Union must be honored — the laws must be 
enforced. What can I do in the premises? 
Shall I tender the aid of the State to Mr. 
Buchanan? Some of our people desire an extra 
session, I do not. My present intention is not 
to call an extra session until after the 4th of 
March. If after that time an extra session be 
necessary to support the Government I will so 
far as in me lies see to it that the last fighting 
man in the State and the last dollar in the treas- 
ury are devoted to that object, and our people 
will sustain me." In a postscript he urged that 
an arsenal be established in some northwestern 
State.2^« 

Two weeks later he expressed similar views 
in a letter to the members of the Iowa delega- 
tion in Congress, asking them to represent the 
State at the peace conference called by the 
legislature of Virginia to meet in Washington, 
D. C, on February 4th. He had too great a dis- 
trust of the motives back of the call by Virginia 
to hope for any good results from the conven- 
tion. But in case the commissioners attending 
the meeting should show themselves "disposed 



THE CRISIS 175 

to act in earnest for the preservation of the 
union", then he had some suggestions concern- 
ing the course to be followed by the Iowa 
delegates. 

"The true policy for every good citizen to 
pursue", said the Governor, ''is to set his face 
like flint against secession, to call it by its true 
name, treason. . . . But if 'compromise' 
must be the order of the day, then that compro- 
mise should not be a concession by one side of 
all the other side demands, and of all for which 
the conceding side has been contending. In 
other words, the north must not be expected to 
yield all the south asks, all the north has con- 
tended for and won, and then call that compro- 
mise. That is not compromise, and would not 
bring peace." Again he urged the restoration 
of the slavery question to the status in which it 
was placed by the compromise measures of 1850 
as the only solution of the situation which the 
North could honorably accept.^ ""'^ 

These declarations by Governor Kirkwood 
may be taken as a fair reflection of the spirit of 
the people of Iowa. About the middle of Jan- 
uary he was urged by J. C. Bennett of Polk City 
to organize the militia and secure necessary 
arms and supplies. In selecting officers, wrote 
Mr. Bennett, "let me entreat of you to appoint 
prompt and able men who, tho' they fear God, 
have no fear of the devil, and xo feae of 



176 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

TRAITORS, and who dare to be men, despite of 
party. "^^^ 

Although the militia of the State was un- 
organized and without arms, a number of 
independent military companies tendered their 
services to the Governor during these days of 
anxious foreboding. The Governor's Greys at 
Dubuque, the Washington Light Guards, the 
Burlington Rifles, and the Mount Pleasant 
Guards, were among the companies which by 
their attitude at this time forecast the readiness 
of the people of Iowa to make any sacrifice to 
preserve the Union. To each offer the Gov- 
ernor responded with a note of no uncertain 
tone.-''- "In these days," he w^rote to one of 
the captains, ''when cabinet officers abet treason 
and use their official position to bankrupt and 
disarm the government they were sworn to sup- 
port . . . when, in one portion of our coun- 
try, many men, delirious with passion, regard 
the firing upon our national flag, the forcible 
seizure of our national forts, and the plunder of 
our national arsenals and treasuries, as manly, 
honorable and patriotic service .... when 
in short, men are found in high places, so lost 
to patriotism as to emulate the treason of 
Benedict Arnold, and so lost to shame as to 
glory in their infamy, and can find followers 
and apologists — it is gratifying to know that 
the gallant yeomanry of Iowa are still deter- 



THE CRISIS 177 

mined ' to march under tlie flag and keep step to 
the music of the union.' "-^^ 

To Joseph Holt, Secretary of War, he wrote 
on January 24th, enclosing "a letter tendering 
to the President the services of the Governor's 
Greys" of Dubuque. "Whilst I deeply regret 
that the perils to which the Union of the States 
is exposed arise from domestic and not from 
foreign foes," he continued, "I feel- a great and 
I think an honest pride in the knowledge that 
the people of Iowa are possessed of an unyield- 
ing devotion to the Union and of a fixed deter- 
mination that so far as depends on them it shall 
be preserved. "^^^ 

Thus far Governor Kirkwood had never met 
Abraham Lincoln, and it was natural that he 
should wish a personal acquaintance with the 
man who had been chosen to guide the nation 
through the perils of the next four years. Early 
in January, 1861, therefore, he journeyed to 
Springfield, Illinois, to call upon the President- 
elect before his departure for Washington, 
D. C. At the hotel in Springfield the plainly 
dressed, unobtrusive man from across the Mis- 
sissippi at first attracted little attention from 
the politicians who thronged the lobby. But he 
was not without friends. He was introduced to 
Governor Yates and shortly afterwards, for the 
first time, shook hands with Abraham Lincoln. 
An interview was arranged and the future 

13 



178 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

President came to Kirkwood's room in the 
hotel, because there they would be free from 
disturbance. 

The actual words of that interview are no- 
where on record, but they established the basis 
of the understanding between the two execu- 
tives which lasted through the dark years of the 
war. Mr. Lincoln "spoke calmly, earnestly and 
with great feeling", while Mr. Kirkwood 
''listened with anxious interest and heard with 
profound satisfaction"; and in the end each 
man fully understood the position of the other 
with respect to the great issues of the day. 
"When he left", wrote Kirkwood later in life, 
"I went with him to the door of the hotel, and 
when I returned to the office I found myself an 
object of considerable attention. It was known 
that Mr. Lincoln was up stairs with somebody, 
and when it appeared that I was that body, a 
good many people about the hotel seemed 
anxious to learn who I was, and where I had 
come from. "-^'^ 

The prospect of another political campaign 
within a few months seems at this time to have 
given Governor Kirkwood little anxiety. "I 
have a letter from Senator Harlan inclosing 
one from you to him, written on the subject of 
the next canvass for the post you now fill", 
wrote Alvin Saunders from Mt. Pleasant on 
January 15th. "I feel greatly obliged . . . . 



THE CRISIS 179 

particularly to you, my dear Sir, who so kindly 
offer me the field in case I & my friends might 
desire a chance — Allow me, however, after re- 
turning my thanks, to say to you that / do not 
expect to he, under any circumstances , a candi- 
date. So you may consider the field as widely 
opened as you have been pleased to make it for 
me. "256 

In spite of the Governor's lack of concern 
over the approaching campaign, he received 
many assurances from such men as William B. 
Allison, Charles Aldrich, and others that the 
Eepublican sentiment of the State was in favor 
of his renomination.--^" That he was not to be 
free from opposition, however, was indicated by 
a letter from A. T. Shaw of Fort Madison, who 
declared that "Dan Miller is turning Heaven 
and Earth but principally the other place to 
create disaffection in the Republican ranks «& to 
organize a 'Union' party. His prime object is 
to secure the nomination for Grovernor. "-^^ 

The early months of the year 1861 passed in 
the routine of executive duties, broken only by 
a trip to the national capital to witness the 
inauguration of President Lincoln.-^^ Then 
came the fatal twelfth of April, when the whole 
country was electrified by the news that Fort 
Sumter had been fired upon. Three days later 
there went out the President's first call for 
troops : seventy-five thousand men were called 
to the colors. 



180 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

The requisition for one regiment, which was 
Iowa's quota in this first call, was flashed over 
the wires to Davenport, then the only point in 
Iowa reached by the telegraph,^ ^*^ Although the 
message stated that a letter would follow, citi- 
zens of Davenport felt that no time should be 
lost in getting word to Governor Kirkwood. 
Accordingly William Vandever, then member 
of Congress from the second district of Iowa, 
took the first train to Iowa City. Upon his 
arrival he found the Governor in boots and 
overalls caring for his stock on the Coralville 
farm.^*^^ 

Just as the Nation was now forced to meet 
the great test of its strength, so Samuel J. 
Kirkwood was face to face with the crisis of 
his life. Had the succeeding three years been 
years of peace his name would have gone down, 
probably, with honorable mention in the list of 
the Governors of Iowa. The war with its many 
demands upon his good judgment and resource- 
fulness, as well as upon his time and strength, 
afforded just the stimulus required to bring 
forth the qualities which enshrined him in the 
hearts of the people. 



XVI 

Men and Arms 

MoMENTAEiLY overcome by the significance of 
the message in his hands, Kirkwood is said to 
have exclaimed: "Why the President wants a 
ivhole regiment of men! Do you suppose, Mr. 
Vandever, I can raise that many? "2*^- If the 
Governor really had any serious doubts on that 
score his mind was soon set at rest. Besides he 
was not a man who would shrink from meeting 
an emergency or spend much time in fearful 
inactivity. But he was keenly aware of his own 
lack of knowledge of military affairs, and he 
knew that not only were the people of Iowa 
devoid of military training but also that the 
State was without arms and the other necessary 
equipment for troops. 

Realizing the necessity of being in direct 
telegraphic communication with Washington, 
the Governor immediately betook himself to 
Davenport, where he spent much of the time 
for several weeks. He arrived in that city just 
in time to participate in a great mass meeting 
at which party lines were ignored and the spirit 
of loyalty to the Union blazed forth in no un- 

181 



182 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

certain manner. Perhaps underestimating the 
difficulties to be met, Governor Kirkwood in his 
address indicated that he would not call an 
extra session of the General Assembly because 
of the cost. "The expense of enlistment and 
starting away of the regiment would cost about 
$10,000; and this matter could be attended to 
without the present intervention of the Legis- 
lature. The Governor said that he would see 
that these expenses were paid until the regi- 
ment was handed over to the Government. He 
said that $10,000 would be raised for this pur- 
pose, if he had to pledge every dollar of his own 
property. He made an eloquent appeal to the 
patriotism of his listeners ; and though sick, he 
gave one of the most stirring addresses of the 
evening. "^*^^ 

Perhaps it was the patriotic fervor reflected 
in this enthusiastic mass meeting which in- 
spired a letter written by Governor Kirkwood 
a few days later to Simon Cameron, then Secre- 
tary of War. "Ten days ago", he said, "we 
had two parties in this State; to-day we have 
but one, and that one is for the Constitution 
and Union unconditionally. "^*^^ 

The Governor's proclamation was issued on 
April 17th, officially informing the people of 
Iowa that they had been asked to raise one 
regiment of men, to be in rendezvous at Keokuk 
by May 20th. "The Nation is in peril", he 



MEN AND ARMS 183 

warned the people. "A fearful attempt is 
being made to overthrow the Constitution and 
dissever the Union. The aid of every loyal 
citizen is invoked to sustain the General Gov- 
ernment. For the honor of our State let the 
requirement of the President be cheerfully and 
promptly met."^^'^ On the same day he wrote 
to individuals in the various counties of the 
State, urging them to put forth efforts to raise 
at least one company of men in each county.^ ""'^ 

Even before these appeals had been sent 
forth the Governor's temporary misgiving con- 
cerning his ability to raise a regiment had been 
dispelled. Within less than twenty-four hours 
after the news of the President's call reached 
Iowa the services of fifteen or twenty com- 
panies had been offered to Kirkwood.^*^^ He 
very soon found that his embarrassments arose 
not from a dearth of men ready and anxious to 
serve their country, but from his inability to 
secure arms, accoutrements, and clothing for 
the soldiers. 

So eager were men to enlist that the number 
who offered themselves soon exceeded the 
power of the Governor to accept, "I am very 
sorry I have not received your personal offer of 
your company", he wrote to the captain of a 
company at Columbus City on April 24th. ''I 
have now offers of companies for two regiments 
and can't get your company in either unless I 



184 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

can get leave to put more than ten companies in 
a regiment. Men are here with offers of their 
companies & almost quarrel with me because I 
can't receive them. "-^* 

The last sentence was in reality a mild state- 
ment of a situation which in some instances 
gave Samuel J. Kirkwood no end of unpleasant- 
ness. "It is entirely out of my power to accept 
the Keokuk Company for the first regiment 
without turning out of the regiment a company 
organized & reed before the Keokuk Company 
was organized", he wrote on April 25th, in 
reply to the complaint of an old friend. "I do 
not think I ought to be asked to do this and 
certainly cannot do it. I am sorry the people 
of Keokuk show 'the greatest feeling and the 
most intense disappointment,' and I hope you 
will endeavor to give their feelings some other 
direction than that of complaint against what 
is unavoidable."-**^ 

Again, on the following day, he wrote that 
"I am very sorry to find that instead of aiding 
me in my present difficult & embarrassing- 
position you are disposed not only to take a 
contrary course yourself but to induce your 
people by misrepresentation or misunderstand- 
ing to do the same. I cannot imagine why this 
is so but must accept the existing fact and try 
and get along as best I may. "2"'^* Still later, in 
writing to another citizen of Keokuk concern- 



MEN AND ARMS 185 

ing the same matter, Kirkwood declared: "It is 
somewhat humiliating to me to be under the 
necessity of thus explaining the reasons of my 
'outgoings and incomings' and I would not 
recognize a necessity for so doing but for some 
recollections of a pleasant nature connected 
with my visit to your home in the fall of 1859. 
My personal regard induces me to do what 
otherwise I would not do."-'^ 

The worries of the Iowa executive, then, did 
not arise from the reluctance of the citizens to 
enlist : his anxiety was rather to appease the 
resentment of many who could not at that time 
be accepted. Nor was he long at a loss for 
funds with which to equip the Iowa troops. To 
be sure there was no money in the State treas- 
ury, and, besides, not a cent of public funds 
could be used without authorization by the 
General Assembly. But the patriotism which 
on the one hand exhibited itself in the eagerness 
of men to place their lives at the service of 
their country also found expression in the 
prompt offer of banking institutions and men of 
wealth to stand back of the State in this 
emergency. The expenses of raising, drilling, 
and maintaining the troops must be borne by 
the State until the men were mustered into the 
service of the United States government. The 
names of Hiram Price of Davenport, Ezekiel 
Clark of Iowa City, J. K. and R. E. Graves of 



186 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

Dubuque, W. T. Smith of Oskaloosa, Governor 
Kirkwood himself, and many other citizens of 
Iowa, without regard to political affiliations, 
must always be held in grateful remembrance. 
Unhesitatingly they pledged all of their per- 
sonal property in order that Iowa might be 
able to do its full duty in this hour of National 
peril. -"^2 

Men were to be had in abundance. Money 
sufficient for immediate needs was cheerfully 
offered. But men w^ithout arms and equipment 
were of little use in warfare; and when guns 
could not be secured at any price money was of 
no avail. The Federal authorities were at their 
wits ends amid all the clamors which arose, 
while manufacturers of arms and munitions 
could not at once supply a Nation unprepared 
for war. Governor Kirkwood, therefore, soon 
became very impatient because of his inability 
to procure the necessary equipment for the men 
who early in May gathered at the appointed 
rendezvous at Keokuk. Cloth for uniforms was 
purchased, to be sure, and the women of low^a 
needed no urging to employ willing fingers in 
the making of clothing for the soldier boys. 
The Governor expressed his appreciation of 
this service in a letter to Mrs. A. Gillespie of 
Dubuque thanking the ladies of that city for 
fitting out two companies of volunteers. ''You 
have set a noble example", he wrote, "in thus 



MEN AND ARMS 187 

coming forward in the time of our need, and 
have shown us by this patriotic offering to the 
welfare of our gallant soldiers that it needs but 
the occasion to reproduce the heroines of 

But guns and ammunition could not be made 
in Iowa, even by the most willing. And so 
Governor Kirkwood sought in every possible 
manner to secure these most essential supplies. 
On April 29th he wrote to the Secretary of War, 
saying that one regiment was ready to be mus- 
tered in, and another had been raised; w^hile a 
third regiment was anxiously waiting to be 
received. He could raise ten thousand men in 
twenty days, but the State had no arms except 
a few old-fashioned muskets. ''If no arrange- 
ment has been made for arms for this State," 
he implored, "do, for God's sake, send us 
some, "-'^'^ Two days later he enumerated his 
attempts to secure guns in the following letter 
to Senator James Harlan: 

Friend Harlan: My efforts to get arms thus far 
have been : 

1. A pressing letter to the Secretary of War, April 
18, on the subject — yet unanswered. 

2. Sending Senator Grimes, April 23d, especially 
on that errand to Washington — not yet heard from. 

3. "Writing to Governor of Connecticut if arms 
can be bought of private manufacturers in that State 
— not yet answered — letter April 24. 



188 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

4. An arrangement with military committee of 
Chicago for a loan of 1,000 guns. — This, I think, is 
perfected, and the guns will be shipped tomorrow to 
Burlington. 

5. I have sent a special messenger to Springfield, 
Illinois, to procure if possible, part of the arms 
recently brought there from St. Louis. If he fails 
there, to go to St. Louis and try the officer there — 
not yet heard from. 

6. Have called an extra session. 

Can you suggest anything more — if so, I will 
follow it.2'5 

Rifles of an inferior grade were eventually 
secured for the first Iowa regiments, but for a 
year or more Governor Kirkwood was embar- 
rassed by the delay in providing equipment for 
his soldiers. His many difficulties, however, 
had only served to fix his determination that the 
war must be fought to a definite conclusion. 
He had hoped against hope that an effective 
compromise might be made, but now that hope 
was gone and he had no more faith in pacific 
measures. "I want this thing settled", he 
wrote to Enoch W. Eastman of Eldora. "It 
will be cheaply done at a cost of men & treasure 
greater than our revolution cost."-'^^ 

The gravity of the situation soon convinced 
the Governor, contrary to his earlier attitude, 
that immediate legislative action was neces- 
sary. On April 25th, therefore, he issued a 



MEN AND ARMS 189 

proclamation calling the General Assembly to 
convene in special session on Wednesday, May 
ISth.^"^" 

Two o'clock on the afternoon of the ap- 
pointed day found the legislators at Des Moines 
in readiness to pass the laws necessary to put 
the State on a war basis. Their number was 
not complete, for several members had enlisted 
in the Iowa regiments and were then in camp. 
But as the extra session opened loyalty to the 
Union was on every member's lips if not in all 
their hearts. In the House of Representatives 
''honest" John Edwards as Speaker displayed 
a fine spirit when in a brief address he declared 
that at such a time "the partizan should be- 
come merged in the patriot." And "having 
been elected to the position I now hold as your 
presiding officer by the dominant party on this 
floor," he said, "in justice to the minority, I 
am now willing to resign my position into the 
hands of any other member of this body". But 
his offer was unanimously declined, and imme- 
diately afterward when a resolution was offered 
calling for the appointment of a committee of 
three Democrats and three Republicans it was 
voted to strike out the words "Republicans" 
and " Democrats ".^"^^ 

On the morning of May 16th each branch of 
the legislature listened to a message from Gov- 
ernor Kirkwood, in which he stated his reasons 



190 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

for calling- the special session and outlined the 
measures which he believed should be enacted 
into law. The opening words briefly emphasized 
the seriousness of the situation which had 
placed the maintenance of the Union in jeop- 
ardy. '*In this contingency," said the Gov- 
ernor, "Iowa must not and does not occupy a 
doubtful position." To support the govern- 
ment '^the people of Iowa are ready to pledge 
every lEighting man in the State, and every 
dollar of her money and credit; and I have 
called you together in Extraordinary Session 
for the purpose of enabling them to make that 
pledge formal and effective." The South had 
struck a blow at the life of a government that 
had long shown unexampled patience, and the 
reply was "such as to show the world the 
strength of a Grovernment founded on the love 
of a free people." 

The first concern of the legislature, suggested 
the Governor, should be to legalize the actions 
taken by the chief executive and others without 
authority of law to meet immediate exigencies. 
He had borrowed money on the credit of the 
State. Two regiments of troops had been 
raised, furnished with uniforms, transported to 
the rendezvous at Keokuk nearly two weeks 
before the day set by the Secretary of War, and 
there drilled and maintained in camp. Prompt 
provision should be made for the payment of 



MEN AND ARMS 191 

the expenses thus incurred; while at the same 
time funds should be made available to meet 
future needs along the same line. He also 
referred to the legislators the question of 
whether or not the State should compensate the 
volunteers for their time until they were mus- 
tered into Federal service. 

Two great objects to be kept always in view 
were "the protection of our State against inva- 
sion and the prompt supply to the General 
Government of any further aid it may re- 
quire." While Governor Kirkwood did not 
anticipate an invasion by regular troops from 
Missouri he did fear that guerrilla bands would 
take advantage of the unsettled conditions to 
institute plunder and border warfare. More- 
over, the northwestern border of Iowa was 
exposed to Indian attack, and the memory of 
the unpunished Spirit Lake massacre was too 
fresh to allow any assurance of safety for the 
settlements in that section without adequate 
military protection. He submitted two plans 
by which the duty of the State might be per- 
formed. 

''One is mustering into the service of the 
State, arming, equipping and placing in camp 
to acquire discipline and drill a number of 
regiments of Volunteers." This method had 
the advantage of providing a disciplined force 
ready for any emergency of the State or nation. 



192 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

but it would be expensive and would not ade- 
quately protect the borders of Iowa. ''The 
other plan", said the Governor, ''is to organize 
along the Southern and Western frontier, arm 
and equip but not muster into active service a 
sufficient force of minute men, w^ho may be 
called upon at any moment to meet any emer- 
gency that may arise at any point. This will be 
the more effective plan for home protection, 
but will not place the State in position to render 
such effective aid to the General Government." 
The enactment of a militia law, providing 
among other things for a military staff for the 
Governor, was another necessity. While pri- 
vate citizens or boards of supervisors in most 
of the counties from which companies had been 
accepted had raised funds for the support of 
the needy families of volunteers, he believed 
that this expense should be borne by the State 
in order that the burden might be more equally 
distributed. The securing of an adequate sup- 
ply of arms for the defense of the State was 
still another matter demanding attention. 
"The last few weeks", said the Governor out 
of the fullness of his recent experience, "have 
taught us a lesson which I trust w^e may never 
forget, that peace is the proper time in which to 
prepare for war." He also suggested a re- 
vision and strengthening of the revenue laws of 
the State. 



MEN AND ARMS 193 

"Permit me in conclusion to express the hope 
that what you may do may be done promptly, 
calmly and thoroughly", was Kirkwood's clos- 
ing admonition in this historic message. ''Let 
us take no counsel from passion, give no way to 
excitement. Let us look our situation boldly 
and squarely in the face, and address ourselves 
to, and do our duty like men who believe that 
wiiile we hold to our Fathers ' faith and tread in 
our Fathers ' steps, the God of our Fathers will 
stand by us in the time of our trial, as He stood 
by them in the time of theirs. "^'^ 

The words of the Governor did not pass un- 
heeded. Both branches of the General Assem- 
bly soon adopted a concurrent resolution 
declaring that "the faith, credit and resources 
of the State of Iowa, both in men and money 
are hereby irrevocably pledged to any amount 
and to every extent which the Federal Govern- 
ment may demand, to suppress treason, subdue 
rebellion, enforce the laws, protect the lives and 
property of all loyal citizens and maintain in- 
violate the Constitution and sovereignty of the 
Nation. "^'^•' And while it must not be imagined 
that the spirit of harmony and good-will so 
much in evidence on the opening days prevailed 
throughout the two-week session, the legislators 
did not rest content Avith the expression of 
fine-sounding sentiments of loyalty. 

With commendable zeal the General Assem- 

14 



194 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

bly addressed itself to the business in hand. 
Practically all of Governor Kirkwood's recom- 
mendations were followed and enacted into 
law. A ''War and Defense Fund" was created 
and provision was made for the sale of State 
bonds to the amount of eight hundred thousand 
dollars. The militia law was revised, a military 
staff of four special aids with the rank of 
Lieutenant Colonel of cavalry was provided for 
the Governor, and he was authorized to raise 
regiments and battalions of infantry, cavalry, 
and artillery for the defense of the borders of 
the State. Soldiers were to receive pay for 
their services until the time when they were 
mustered into the United States army, and 
county officials were authorized to use pul)lic 
funds in caring for the families of volunteers. 
A contingent fund of ten thousand dollars for 
the remainder of the year 1861 was placed at 
the Governor's disposal and he was empowered 
to employ a private secretary.-^ ^ In fact, with 
frequent reference to Governor Kirkwood for 
advice and information,-^- the General Assem- 
bly of Iowa prom.ptly did all in its power to 
facilitate the activities of the chief executive 
and enable the State to perform its full duty 
in the Nation's crisis. 



XVII 

A War-Time Political Campaign 

Partisanship, although partially consumed by 
the flame of patriotism which blazed up in every 
town and hamlet of Iowa at the firing on Fort 
Sumter, was not totally destro^^ed. All too 
soon it revived under the favorable conditions 
produced by the war and its many problems. 
Thenceforth the already overburdened author- 
ities, both in State and Nation, were harassed 
by attacks from the rear which were more 
difficult to combat than the hostility of open 
enemies. Samuel J. Kirkwood, as Cxovernor of 
Iowa, received his full share of bitter, partisan 
abuse. 

The first shock occasioned by the definite 
rupture between North and South had scarcely 
lost its effect before political party machinery 
in Iowa was put into full operation in prepara- 
tion for the coming State election. From the 
beginning there could' have been little doubt of 
the outcome, but it soon appeared that it was 
not to be a colorless campaign. "Your enemies 
think the present a glorious opportunity to get 
sweet revenge & destroy your influence", wrote 

195 



196 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

Ezekiel Clark late in May, "but you will prob- 
ably be saved from annihilation by an arm 
stronger & a power higher than your puny ad- 
versaries. . . . You will probably find ad- 
versaries & false friends where you will not 
expect them. "-^^ From a friend at Council 
Bluffs a week later came the warning that *'a 
strong effort will be made to defeat you in the 
next convention and the disappointment of 
rejected military Companies will be turned to 
account against you. This is unfair and un- 
manly, but the aspirants for your place are not 
going to be over scrupulous about that. "-*^ 

The prediction in this letter was not un- 
founded. So persistent and widespread did the 
charge of favoritism in the acceptance of vol- 
unteer companies become that the leading 
Republican newspaper of the State came to the 
Governor's defense. "When the requisition 
was made by the General Government for one 
regiment from this State," declared the editor, 
"Gov. Kirkwood could not know — no man 
could have foretold — that ten companies would 
eagerly press forward for every one that could 
be accepted. His anxiety was to have the men 
in camp at the time designated by the War 
Department, and companies were then accepted 
who were able to be first upon the ground. "^^^ 

Several weeks later another correspondent 
informed Kirkwood of another basis upon which 



WAR-TIME CAMPAIGN 197 

opposition to him was being manufactured, 
namely, his refusal to allow men to squander 
the State 's money under the excitement of war. 
For, said the writer, "a man just now can urge 
economy but at the risk of being a secessionist 
& a rebel & this the scamps know and will take 
advantage of it to open the doors of the treasury 
to their own craving stomachs. "-^^ 

All this time the Governor was too busy with 
public duties to devote much thought to his own 
political prospects. Thus the Republican State 
Convention was held at Des Moines on July 
31st, without any apparent previous activity on 
his part to make sure of a renomination. 
Although there was not absolute unity among 
the delegates who composed this convention, 
the platform adopted was such as to satisfy the 
most loyal patriot. Ignoring all minor issues, 
each of its eight planks expressed an unalter- 
able determination that the Union must be pre- 
served, no matter what the cost."-^^^ 

The informal ballot for the party's nominee 
showed Samuel J. Kirkwood far in the lead, his 
competitors being Samuel F. Miller, Elijah 
Sells, Fitz Henry Warren, and S. A. Rice. On 
the first formal ballot Kirkwood 's support was 
even larger and thereupon his nomination was 
made unanimous.^^^ 

There is good reason to believe, however, that 
the whole story of the nomination is not re- 



198 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

vealed in the record of votes. "You have 
doubtless heard that tlie rubicon is passed, the 
Batteries taken, & you the victor in our state 
Convention", wrote William B. Allison. "It is 
useless to disguise or deny the fact [that] there 
was a most bitter and determined opposition in 
the Convention to your re-nomination. They 
were unable to concentrate their forces on any 
one man so that they really made but little 
headway when the hour for balloting arrived. 
The principal opposition seemed to be from the 
southern portion of the state, & Linn County in 
the North." Man}^ of Kirkwood's friends, said 
Allison, had nearly become convinced that some 
other man would be better able to harmonize 
the factions in the party. He also urged the 
Governor to send men (including H. M. Hoxie) 
to the southern counties of Iowa to investigate 
the measures necessary to defend that region 
against possible attack from Missouri. Such 
action, he said, would tend to allay the dissatis- 
faction in that section.^^^ 

The northern part of the State also showed 
some signs of discontent. Eliphalet Price 
wrote from Guttenberg on August 8th, con- 
gratulating Kirkwood on his renomination. 
"We are putting on and adjusting our Lincoln 
harness for the stump this fall", he said. "It 
will be a warm contest and a bitter one."-'^" 
The following week he informed the Governor 



WAR-TIME CAMPAIGN 199 

of the efforts which were being made by Reuben 
Noble and others in Clayton County to organize 
a "Union Party", and alluded to the charges of 
favoritism in the acceptance of companies. "I 
think that they will be glad to drop this when 
they are informed that all will be received who 
come", he added. "The Enlisting feeling has 
very much subsided [in the] north, now when it 
is known that they are wanted. ""'^^ Many let- 
ters received by Kirkwood during the fall, 
however, indicate that the dissatisfaction in the 
northern counties w^as not so much personal 
opposition to him, as the feeling that the Re- 
publican leaders, especially Grimes and Harlan, 
had neglected that portion of the State in the 
matter of appointments. 

The allusion to the proposed "Union Party" 
was not without foundation, and as a matter of 
fact this movement was one which gave the 
Republicans considerable anxiety. At a con- 
vention held in Des Moines on August 28tli, this 
party nominated Nathaniel B. Baker for Gov- 
ernor, Laurin Dewey for Lieutenant Governor, 
and Reuben Noble for Supreme Court Judge, 
Both Baker and Noble, however, declined to 
accept the nomination. Mr. Baker, as will be 
seen, soon became Adjutant General and served 
with great distinction in that important posi- 
tion throughout the war; while Reuben Noble 
and Laurin Dewev continued to be among 



200 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

Governor Kirkwood's most loyal supporters.^^^ 
So that in reality the Union party movement 
had little effect on the campaign. 

The Democrats particularly were in a quan- 
dary during- this period, for the party was split 
into two factions — the ''War Democrats" and 
the "Peace Democrats". Two State conven- 
tions were held, one on July 24th, at which time 
Charles Mason was nominated for Governor, 
and Maturin L. Fisher for Lieutenant Gov- 
ernor. At another convention held on August 
29th William H. Merritt was chosen in the place 
of Mr. Fisher, who had declined the nomination. 
Still later Judge Mason, apparently under 
pressure, withdrew from the head of the ticket, 
and an effort was made to unify the factions of 
the party under the leadership of Col. Merritt, 
whose loyalty was unquestioned ; while Maturin 
L. Fisher was restored to his former position as 
the candidate for Lieutenant Governor.-"" 

It does not appear that the campaign of 1861 
was in any sense spectacular. There was very 
little speech-making and an equal dearth of 
newspaper controversy. The war overshad- 
owed all else. To be sure, Governor Kirkwood 
was frequently urged to visit certain localities 
and present his views on the issues of the day, 
but on only two occasions did he take time from 
his executive duties to accede to these demands. 
On September 4tli in Sherman Hall in Des 



WAR-TIME CAMPAIGN 201 

Moines he made an address which deserves to 
be called an Iowa classic. In tone and content 
it was far removed from the plea of a mere 
seeker after office. The second speech was 
delivered at Davenport about one month later, 
and while perhaps less notable it was similar to 
the Des Moines address in character. 

The Sherman Hall address was made with 
less than six hours preparation, and therefore 
it came unmodified by considerations of ex- 
pediency directly from the heart of the Gov- 
ernor.^ ^^ After a brief introduction he said : 

I again find myself what I once thought I never 
again would be, a candidate for the office of Governor ; 
and I confess I find myself in peculiar and unpleasant 
circumstances. . . . First, the country is in a 
condition such as it was never in before. — We have 
had war before, but never a civil war. We have had 
strife before, but never internecine strife. And many 
of the good people who are in favor of pressing this 
war thoroughly^ vigorously, and triumphantly to an 
end, believe that an error was committed in making a 
party nomination at this time. — They think that the 
gentlemen who have placed me in nomination have 
erred. That is one thing. Another is, and I am very 
sorry to say it, that some of my own political house- 
hold think that I am not the man, that we should have 
had some other person. 

Logically and clearly he showed how impos- 
sible it would have been to make a thoroughly 



202 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

non-partisan nomination. There was no way by 
which such an action could have been accom- 
plished. Besides in this crisis the Republicans 
were willing to ignore all issues save that of 
preserving, the Union and on that ground they 
were glad to welcome to their ranks all citizens 
whatever their beliefs on other questions. 

"Now, my friends," continued the Governor, 
"a few words on a subject to me more delicate. 
As the Chief Executive of the State since the 
war commenced, much fault has been found 
with me. I am a plain man; and although it 
may not be prudent in me as a candidate to 
speak in regard to these matters, yet I propose 
to say some things to you in a very plain way. 
A great many gentlemen think I have not been 
energetic enough; that I have not been efficient 
enough; that I have not pushed forward the 
work as vigorously as I should have done. That 
may be true. That I may have committed errors 
I think is not only very possible, but very prob- 
able. " Vividly he outlined the difficulties con- 
fronting the administration at Washington as 
well as that of Iowa. "And I do insist upon 
it", he said, "that instead of hunting some- 
thing to find fault with, you should strengthen 
and uphold your public agents." 

"It has been said that the Iowa volunteers 
have not been clothed as well and as rapidly as 
they should have been clothed", the speaker 



WAR-TLAIE CAMPAIGN 203 

next declared. "Tliat is your fault, not mine. 
I had not the money to do it. You have it, and 
I have not been furnished with it. The clothes 
worn by your First, Second and Third Regi- 
ments to-day have not been paid for! . . . . 
Much fault was found with me because your 
soldiers at Keokuk did not receive their poor 
pittance of pay, which they were to receive 
from the State. . . . You know as well as I 
that the Executive of this State had not a dollar 
to advance to the soldiers. After they were 
mustered in at Keokuk, Ezekiel Clark, Hiram 
Price, of Davenport, and your Speaker, bor- 
rowed on their private credit the money, some 
$30,000, which was required to pay them, and 
I^aid it, and the debt is unsatisfied to-day. . . . 
The bank of this city holds my protested notes 
for $6,000. ... I was absent from home 
last week, and found upon my return notices of 
protested paper of mine to the amount of $6,000 
more; and not less than seven of those little 
tickets which bankers send out to give notice of 
notes falling due. Now it is not agreeable to a 
man who has hitherto kept his commercial 
credit unimpaired thus to find it dishonored; 
and it is still more displeasing when he is cursed 
all over the State for not doing what he was 
powerless to accomplish, and it is right you 
should know it. "-•^'^ 

In language equally plain he then proceeded 



204 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

to place the responsibility for lack of funds 
where it belonged. ''I grew pathetic in a news- 
paper appeal a few days since," he said, "ask- 
ing you to subscribe for State Bonds. Now 
there is scarcely a man of you, who if life, limb 
or property were at stake, could not take $100 at 
least of Iowa State Bonds, and thus furnish the 
means to carry on this work, and have it done 
right.-^*^ And let me say plainly — though as a 
candidate I ought not to talk so to you — that, 
in so doing, you would be performing your duty, 
as well as in carping and fault-finding. . . . 
I ought perhaps to make handsome vows, speak 
soft and honied words, things I cannot do; but 
I will tell you the truth as I understand and 
believe it, and if you don 't like it, you have the 
remedy in your own hands, ycfu know." 

Turning from personal matters to the con- 
duct of the war, Governor Kirkwood eulogized 
the Republican party, and appealed to the patri- 
otism of his hearers by referring to the exploits 
of Iowa men on the field of battle. Especially 
did he elicit rounds of applause at every men- 
tion of the First Iowa Regiment, which had 
won glory in the battle of Wilson's Creek. He 
had been in Washington when the news of that 
battle was received. Before that time he had 
been shown but little respect at the War De- 
partment. But when the news came, he said, 
"everv man who saw me had to shake hands 



WAR-TIME CAMPAIGN 205 

with me, and placing my hat at an angle of 45 
degrees, I stalked through the building as 
though I owned it — and they let me. ' ' 

This memorable speech came to a close with 
an admonition to the audience that above all 
the welfare of the Nation should be their first 
consideration. With characteristic directness 
Samuel J. Kirkwood delivered his message, and 
then with good-natured humor and simple elo- 
quence partly removed the sting of his blunt 
remarks and stirred the hearts of his listeners. 

The election was held on the second Tuesday 
in October. When the votes were counted it 
was found that Mr. Kirkwood had been re- 
elected to the office of Governor of Iowa by a 
majority of about seventeen thousand.^^' 



XVIII 

The First Year of the War 

While the political campaign of 1861 was 
being fought out with but little attention from 
Governor Kirkwood he was coping with diffi- 
culties such as have never confronted another 
executive of Iowa. The inability of the Federal 
government to provide arms and equipment for 
the ti-'oops as rapidly as needed continued to be 
a cause of vexation, and the Governor was 
forced to endure much unjust criticism because 
of the delay. 

Even when guns were received they proved in 
some instances to be of a very inferior quality 
and almost useless in actual warfare. As late 
as January 12, 1862, Governor Kirkwood re- 
ceived a letter from his nephew, W. W. Kirk- 
"W'^ood, who was then in Benton Barracks at St. 
Louis, complaining of the character of the arms 
furnished to the Iowa troops. To show the 
worthless nature of these guns he said "there 
was one to my certain knowledge Broken by 
striking it lightly across a pine Box the barrel 
broke entirely off in two places." Other guns 
burst at the first discharge, and in fact these 

206 



FIRST YEAR OF WAR 207 

old-fashioned muskets were more dangerous to 
the men who carried them than to the enemy.^''^ 

Similar reports came from other camps, and 
it added much to Kirkwood's worries to think 
of Iowa men going into battle with such in- 
effective weapons. He wrote letter after letter 
to government officials and did not rest content 
until he was assured that better equipment had 
been provided. 

Lack of money was, likewise, a serious prob- 
lem. While the State banks throughout Iowa 
and men of wealth in this State and else- 
where"^^^ generousl}^ offered to advance large 
sums, the Governor knew that he had no author- 
ity to accept these offers and pledge the credit 
of the State for their later repayment. The 
General Assembly, at the extra session in May, 
1861, as has been noticed, made provision for 
the sale of $800,000 worth of State bonds for 
the purpose of creating a "War and Defense 
Fund". But unfortunately no appropriation 
Avas made out of the ordinary revenue of the 
State to meet immediate needs. Thus the 
financial situation remained desperate. Con- 
trary to all expectations and to the great 
chagrin of Governor Kirkwood who considered 
it a reflection on the State, the bonds did not 
find a ready market. Consequently, relief from 
this source came very slowly. 

"I verv much regret mv inabilitv to furnish 



208 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

yon at this time with funds to pay the note 
given by yourself & others for the powder pur- 
chased by you & them some time since and 
taken off your hands by the State", wrote 
Kirkwood to Samuel F. Miller on June 26th. 
"The present condition of our finances is so 
painfully familiar to me that it seems almost 
strange that it should not be familiar to every 
one. . . . The proper Board has authorized 
the sale of Bonds to the amount of $400,000 
which will be for sale in this State until July 13 
at private sale at par and the unsold portion 
will on the 15th July be awarded to the highest 
& best bidders at the Metropolitan Bank, New 
York. I am wholly unable to say what portion 
will sell in this State at par or how readily and 
at what rate the bonds will sell in New York, 
but until sold there or here I must remain as I 
have been heretofore without money except as 
I can borrow it."^*'"^ 

Thus it was that appeals to the Governor's 
office for money with which to buy arms and 
other necessities for several weeks met with the 
same reluctant reply. "You ask for arms", 
wrote Kirkwood 's military secretary on Sep- 
tember 3, 1861. "The State has none and can 
get none for want of means. Our bonds do not 
sell at home or abroad & until they do no arms 
can be purchased. "^*^'^ A few days later in 
reply to a letter of Samuel Merrill, who appar- 



FIRST YEAR OF WAR 209 

eiitly was hoping for the reimbursement of 
money which he had advanced to clothe Iowa 
troops, the military secretary told of the per- 
sonal sacrifices which the Governor had made. 
"He has no money at command", he wrote, 
"and is himself under protest for a large amt. 
Relying on the proceeds of sale of Bonds he 
became personally responsible for more than he 
is worth and as his reliance failed him his notes 
have gone to protest. He has been to Wash- 
ington to get some of the State expenses re- 
funded and expects a partial paymt within 30 
days & will try to secure you a share of it. "^"^^ 
The first money to be paid into the State 
treasury from the sale of bonds was received on 
July 31st and then the amount was only sixteen 
thousand five hundred dollars. On August 2nd 
about twenty thousand dollars came in, and 
])ractically the same amount three weeks later. 
Thereafter the sums received at irregular inter- 
vals were smaller, and by the first of November 
scarcely more than eighty thousand dollars had 
been received.-^*'-^ This was the best that could 
be done in spite of the Governor's stirring 
appeals to the people of lowa,"**^*^ and in spite of 
the fact that the bonds bore seven percent 
interest, were backed by the resources of a 
wealthy State, and were widely advertised by 
the Governor in such newspapers as the Neiv 
York Tribune, the Chicago Tribune, the Boston 

15 



210 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

Post, and the Juurnal of CommerceS'^^'" It is 
little wonder that Kirkwood felt constrained to 
tell his audience some very plain facts in his 
Sherman Hall speech in September and to place 
before his hearers their duty in the matter of 
buying State bonds.-'^*^^ 

It has been said that the hesitancy of indi- 
viduals and banking institutions to take these 
bonds was not due wholly to the unsettled con- 
dition of the times. Enemies of the govern- 
ment, both in Iowa and in the East, according 
to assertions frequently made, circulated insin- 
uations against the security of the bonds and 
caused them to be regarded with suspicion in 
many quarters.-^"' But whatever the cause, the 
slowness in securing funds from this source 
seriously handicapped the Governor of Iowa 
and those in authority with him. The situation 
was somewhat relieved about the middle of 
October when t^ie United States government 
paid eighty thousand dollars into the State 
treasury.-'*'** 

Fortunately, in the midst of new and untried 
duties Samuel J. Kirkwood was not without the 
advice and assistance of capable and loyal men. 
As military secretary he chose Nathan Hoit 
Brainerd of Iowa City, a man possessing the 
qualities of common sense, calm judgment, and 
the ability to express his strong convictions in 
clear and vigorous language. Although he 



hMUST VI']Ali' OV WAIi 211 

iievor roeciNcd a Inrm' ('()m|)(Misaiioii lie uii- 
falteriiii>"ly hore liis I'lill share of tlio bui'dcii of 
corrcspoiKlciicc and llic I'cspoiisibilities which 
th(^ war (Milaih'd upon the exccutivo oCruH^ His 
ability and t'aithriiliu'ss iiiado it possibU' \'ov th(» 
(xoveriior \o make ri'cMiuciii and necessary jonr- 
ncys away from home wilh the full knowkHli>'e 
I hat the alVaii's dI" his oflicc were in ('a])al)h^ 
hands.-'"'' 

I^](inal reliance couhl be phiC(Ml by (Jovenior 
Kirkwood ii])()n his private secretary, altliou.^li 
it so lia|)p(Mi(Ml ihal sev(M'al men occiiy)ied tliis 
position (bii'inu' the yeais of Ihe war and tlie 
(hities ot" Ihe piixate secretary were not of sncli 
iiH|)ortance durinj;' this period w iien military 
affairs wei-(^ the fii-st considei-ation. l)urini>' the 
suininer of ISdl Ihe pri\ale s(»cretary was .lolin 
I*aliee, who latei' became LienicMiaid (\)lonel of 
the Sevenlh Iowa (\M\alr>, and r>re\<'1 l»i'ii;a- 
dier Genera I. 

Actini»" upon Ihe anlhoril\' ^ranled lo him b>' 
the legislature, late in June the (iovei'iior 
appointed as his four i-ei;ular aids John Ed- 
wards, Cyrus Hussey, Kush C*lark, and Addison 
II. Saunders, ^riiree of these men later receiv<Ml 
liiiili recognition foi" their brax'ery on the Held 
of battle. At the same time Kirkwood chose 
three s|)ecial aids to assist him in enlistini;' and 
e(|uippin,<i' t I'oops. ( )ne of these special aids 
was William i». Allison, who then as always 



212 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

was one of Kirkwood's stauncliest friends. 
Another was W. H. Thompson of Linn County ; 
while the third was Nathaniel B. Baker, who 
was soon to be placed in a position of much 
greater authority and responsibility.-^ ^■' 

In July Adjutant General Jesse Bowmen re- 
signed, "with the thanks of the Executive for 
his patriotism, zeal and ability ",'^^^ and on the 
twenty-fifth his place was given by Grovernor 
Kirkwood to Nathaniel B. Baker. It is doubt- 
ful if any better choice could possibly have been 
made. Mr. Baker had been a life-long Demo- 
crat. He had been a member of the New 
Hampshire legislature and Governor of that 
State from 1854 to 1856. In the General As- 
sembly of Iowa during the special session he 
was a leader in securing the enactment of laws 
putting the State on a war footing. To the 
office of Adjutant General he brought un- 
bounded energy, fine executive ability, and a 
sensitiveness to suffering which made him 
always zealous in his efforts to guard the wel- 
fare of the Iowa troops. •'^- 

Governor Kirkwood was, indeed, very for- 
tunate in his choice of men to render him 
personal assistance. But it was also his duty 
to make many appointments to positions in the 
army; and while the men he selected, with few 
exceptions, proved worthy of the trust, this 
duty led to much unpleasantness. Ungratified 



FIRST YEAR OF WAR 213 

ambition, jealousy, and personal animosity 
gave rise to complaints and bitter criticism. 

The extent of the Governor's power to make 
military appointments was clearly stated by 
N. H. Brainerd in a letter written early in 
September. ''The only officers appointed by 
the Gov. are the field & medical officers", he 
said, "All Company officers are elected by the 
Company and the regimental Staff are ap- 
pointed by the regimental officers. ""^^ On the 
same day he answered a letter urging the ap- 
pointment of a certain man by the brief but 
pertinent statement that the Governor "would 
be glad to appoint any worthy applicant but is 
limited to the number of places to be filled. "-^^^ 

"I have not said or done any thing to injure 
you", said Kirkwood himself in a four-page 
letter to one who was disappointed at not re- 
ceiving a field office. ' ' I have only decided that 
in my judgment I found better men for the 
positions I had to fill. I must be permitted 
however to say that the already onerous duties 
of my position will be largely increased if I am 
compelled to make explanations as lengthy as 
this to all whom I cannot gratify with posi- 
tions."''^"'' The mere question of selecting the 
best men among the large number of applicants 
was illustrated in the reply of the Governor in 
April, 1862, to a physician of Keokuk County 
who desired an appointment as surgeon. 



214 SAiMUEL J. KIKKWOOD 

"There are at tliis time five places to fill", he 
said, "four of which are under a law just passed 
by the general assembly. For these places I 
have just fifty-four applications by persons 
who have passed the Medical Board besides 
numerous applications from others who are 
willing to go and be examined if they can have 
a promise before they go that I will appoint 
them in case the report shall he favorable. Now 
dont you 'consider' that under such circum- 
stances it requires a good deal of 'considera- 
tion' on my part to know what to do?"-^^*^ 

Even strong personal friendships were not 
always proof against severe strain when expec- 
tations of appointment or promotion were not 
fulfilled. Such was the case of John Edwards 
of Chariton, who, as has been seen, was one of 
Kirkwood's regular aids. It seems that the 
G^overnor had promised Edwards the colonelcy 
of a regiment, but through some misunder- 
standing with the War Department the com- 
mission was issued to Alexander Chambers, a 
regular army officer. Keenly disappointed at 
this unexpected turn in affairs, the Governor 
was only too happy shortly afterwards to offer 
Edwards the position of Lieutenant Colonel in 
the Seventeenth Infantry Regiment, of Avhich 
John AV. Rankin was Colonel. "Now Colonel", 
he wrote, "for Clod's sake and my sake accept. 
I feel more mortified and embarrassed about 



FIRST YEAR OF WAR 215 

your position than I liave ever done about any 
tiling in my life. You had been so considerate, 
so modest, so little disposed to be urgent that it 
was a pleasure to be to be able to give you a 
commission and my mortification at the result 
so mortifying to you is great. Do accept. "^^'^ 
In spite of many long letters from the Gov- 
ernor, Edwards refused to accept the position. 
Later, however, he was appointed Colonel of 
the Eighteenth Infantry Regiment, and gave 
such evidence of his valor and ability that he 
was promoted to the rank and position of 
Brigadier General. 

The raising and equipping of troops was the 
duty which throughout the summer and autumn 
of 1861 claimed the Governor's closest atten- 
tion. On June lltli he issued a proclamation 
informing the people of what had been done, 
and appealing to them especially to be prompt 
in the payment of taxes in order that the State 
might not be embarrassed by a lack of ordinary 
revenue. "I have been induced to make the 
foregoing suggestions in this manner", he said, 
''because of my belief that the People of the 
State would cordially co-operate with me in any 
honest, prudent endeavor to advance the public 
interest. While only a few may be permitted 
to endure the hardships and face the hazards of 
the camp, and to meet the foe in the shock of 
battle, each citizen, in this hour of our National 



216 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

necessities has a public obligation to discharge, 
and it may be as effectively canceled while in 
the prosecution of the peaceful pursuits of 
industry, as at the most hazardous posts of 
duty."^i« 

Another proclamation on July oOtli an- 
nounced that the Secretary of War had accepted 
four additional regiments of infantry and one 
of cavalry from Iowa. Some of the companies 
were not yet filled to the strength required for 
United States service; and besides the term of 
enlistment of the three-months men in the First 
Iowa Infantry had expired and a new regiment 
must be raised to take its place. "The recent 
misfortune at Manassas", he warned the peo- 
ple, "demonstrates that the contest in which we 
are engaged is one requiring neither passion, 
excitement, nor unreasoning and blind haste, 
but rather patience, calmness, organization, 
deliberation and fixed determination."-''^" 

The case of the First Iowa received char- 
acteristic treatment at the hands of the Grov- 
ernor. This regiment had made a proud name 
for itself at the battle of Wilson's Creek, and 
although the term of enlistment of its members 
had expired he refused to allow the regiment to 
be reorganized. "My reasons were", he wrote, 
"that the good name & fame of that regiment 
was the property of its members & had become 
a part of the history & property of this State — 



FIRST YEAR OF WAR 217 

that a new regiment under the same name might 
tarnish that good name & that I had not morally 
the right to commit its keeping to new 
hands. "2-" 

The method adopted by the War Department 
at first in calling for troops w^as not to the 
liking of Governor Kirkwood, and he frankly 
stated his attitude to Secretary Cameron. "I 
would much prefer", he said, "that in the 
future all troops needed from this State for 
the service of the United States be called for by 
regular requisition upon the Executive of the 
State, unless such troops shall be uniformed 
and equipped by the United States or by them- 
selves. I will endeavor to furnish promptly all 
troops that may be regularly required from this 
State, and I am satisfied it will save much com- 
plication and unpleasant feeling here to have all 
further troops furnished upon formal requisi- 
tion." Not long afterward he received a reply 
assuring him that in the future his wishes 
would be observed.'^^^ 

Again on September 10th by proclamation 
Kirkwood made an appeal for additional vol- 
unteers. "More soldiers are required for the 
War", was his challenge to the patriotism of 
his people. "Six regiments of infantry and 
two of cavalry, composed of your friends and 
your neighbors, are now in the field. Three 
more regiments of infantrv, and one of cav- 



218 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

airy, composed of the same precious materials, 
are now iii camp, nearly organized, and eager 
to join their brothers in arms, who have pre- 
ceded them, and still four more regiments are 
required. . . . Eemember they will not 
fight for themselves alone. It is your cause, as 
well as theirs, in which they are engaged. It is 
the cause of government, of home, of country, 
of freedom, of humanity, of God himself. It is 
in this righteous cause that I now call upon the 
manhood and patriotism of the State for a 
cordial and hearty response. The gallant 
achievements of our noble Iowa first, have be- 
stowed upon our State an unperishable renown. 
Wherever fortitude is appreciated, and valor 
recognized, as the attributes of a brave and 
great hearted people, the Iowa volunteer is now 
greeted with pride and applause. ""-- 

The writing of appeals for volunteers, how- 
ever, was the smallest item in Kirkwood's 
acti^'ities in connection with the raising of 
troops. He made trips to various parts of 
Iowa and to eastern cities, held numerous con- 
ferences, and conducted a very heavy cor- 
respondence. Burdens of a similar nature 
rested upon the Governors of all the northern 
States. It was in December, 1861, that an inter- 
esting proposal was made by Governor Alex- 
ander AV. Randall of Wisconsin. "It seems to 
me", he wrote, ''that the large amount of labor 



FIRST YEAR OF WAR 219 

and responsibility thrown npon the Executives 
of the several states during the past season, 
entitles them to some consideration at the 
hands of Congress. In all cases where forces 
enough have been sent from any State to entitle 
the State to an appointment of Major General, 
the Governor ought to be paid the compensa- 
tion of a Major General. In all other cases to 
be paid the compensation of a Brigadier Gen- 
eral. ... I propose that we make common 
cause with our members of Congress to favor 
such an act."-'-" 

Whatever may have been Governor Kirk- 
wood's reply to the author of this proposal, his 
attitude was expressed in a letter to Senator 
Grimes on December 29th. He admitted that 
the loyal Governors might with propriety hope 
for more adequate recognition of their arduous 
services in behalf of the General Government. 
"But the Govt needs all its money & more," he 
said, "and there are other better uses to which 
to put the money. I am painfully impressed 
with the conviction that our regiments have not 
enough medical aid, and I would much rather 
Congress would give an additional assistant 
surgeon to each regiment from Iowa than any 
pay to its Governor.""^-"* 



XIX 

Message and Inaugural of 1862 

The Ninth General Assembly of Iowa convened 
in reg-ular session at Des Moines on Monday, 
January 13, 1862; and once more it was neces- 
sary for Governor Kirkwood to spend most of 
his days in the executive office in the capitol at 
Des Moines. Again it was his duty to com- 
municate to the legislature his views concerning 
needed legislation and to deliver another in- 
augural address, for this was the beginning of 
his second term as Governor. 

On the second day of the session the biennial 
message was read in both houses of the legis- 
lature. Attention was first called to the vital 
subject of revenue and taxation. The expend- 
itures for all State purposes during the pre- 
ceding two years, he said, amounted to about 
$300,000 annually. But in spite of the fact that 
the government had been economically admin- 
istered, the finances of the State were not in "a 
healthy condition". The Auditor's report re- 
vealed the startling fact that taxes for 1860 and 
the years immediately preceding, to the amount 
of $400,000, still remained delinquent and un- 

220 



MESSAGE AND INAUGURAL 221 

paid; while warrants to the extent of over 
$100,000 were outstanding. "From these 
facts", he continued, ''the following conclusions 
are inevitable: 1st, That during the last four 
years there has been levied a State tax larger 
by about $300,000 than the necessities of the 
State required. 2d, That this was rendered 
necessary by the fact that only a portion of our 
people paid the tax due the State. 3d, That the 
State has been compelled yearly to pay large 
sums by way of interest on warrants, which 
need not have been paid had the taxes been col- 
lected promptly, and the Treasury kept sup- 
plied with funds to meet all demands upon it. 
4th, That the State being compelled to purchase 
its supplies with warrants has had to pay 
higher prices than if it had had the cash to pay. 
5th, That the tax-paying portion of our people 
have thus been compelled to pay not only their 
proper share of the public burthens, but also 
the share of those who did not pay their taxes, 
increased by interest and high prices. ' ' 

A revision of the revenue laws was therefore 
recommended. Two features were especially 
suggested, namely, the "imposition of such 
penalty for the non-payment of taxes when due, 
as will make it unmistakably the interest of 
every tax-payer to pay promptly"; and the 
"assurance to the purchaser of property at a 
tax sale, of a valid title at the expiration of a 
fixed time." 



222 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

The problem of revenue and taxation, more- 
over, was complicated by the probability that 
the State would be asked that year to contribute 
a tax of between $600,000 and $700,000 to aid 
the Federal government in paying the interest 
on its enormous and rapidly-growing debt. It 
would be necessary for the legislature to pro- 
vide some plan to meet this situation. County 
officials should also be given additional duties 
and responsibilities in the matter of taxation, 
since out of every $5.66 of taxes paid by the 
people only one dollar reached the State treas- 
ury, while the remainder was used for local 
purposes. Economy and accountability in local 
expenditures were urgently required. The pay- 
ment of taxes, the Governor believed, would be 
facilitated if United States treasury notes and 
notes of the State banks of Iowa were to be 
made receivable at par, instead of confining 
payment entirely to specie."'-^'' 

Military affairs were next discussed. Sixteen 
regiments of infantry, four of cavalry, three 
batteries of artillery, and one independent 
company of cavalry for frontier service had 
already been raised in Iowa, and two more regi- 
ments of infantry were at that time being re- 
cruited. After recounting the difficulties met 
in the sale of State bonds, Kirkwood recom- 
mended that the legislature give careful con- 
sideration to some plan for providing more 



MESSAGE AND INAUGURAL 223 

adequate funds for the equipment of Iowa 
troops. Additional medical attendants were 
badly needed, and he urged that provision be 
made for nurses and assistant surgeons. Some 
changes were also needed in the militia law.^^c 

Turning to the subject of school and univer- 
sity funds, the Governor urged that these funds 
be adequately protected from future loss and 
mismanagement. ' ' I am decidedly of opinion ' ', 
was his interesting suggestion with regard to 
the State University, ' ' that not only the interest 
of the institution, but also the interest of the 
State requires that you should provide a Mili- 
tary Department of the University, and should 
establish a Military Professorship therein. 
The sad experience of the last few months, has 
shown us the necessity of military knowledge 
among our people."-^-" 

The needs of the penitentiary and the char- 
itable institutions, measures for the promotion 
of agriculture, and the situation with regard to 
the Federal land grants in Iowa all received 
due consideration. ''The year which has just 
closed," said the Governor in conclusion, ''has 
brought to our people a new experience, new 
trials, new responsibilities, and new duties. 
Let us continue to meet them as we have thus 
far met them, with neither an overweening con- 
fidence in, and reliance upon, our own strength, 
nor an umnanlv and craven fear for ourselves. 



224 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

or of tlie liardships we may endure before we 
win by deserving success, but with patience, 
calmness, unflinching courage, and an abiding 
faith in God."'^-« 

Shortly after noon on the following day a 
joint committee of the legislature waited upon 
Mr. Kirkwood and informed him that the votes 
had been canvassed, that he had been declared 
elected Governor of Iowa, and that the joint 
convention was in readiness for the inaugura- 
tion. Thereupon, accompanied by the Lieuten- 
ant Governor, the Justices of the Supreme 
Court, and the other State officers, he made his 
w^ay to the hall of the House of Representatives. 
The oath of office w^as administered by Chief 
Justice Caleb Baldwin, and "His Excellency 
addressed the Joint Convention "."^^ 

Eloquently Kirkwood portrayed the events 
leading up to the war, the causes of the great 
struggle, and the situation in which the govern- 
ment then found itself. Especially did he 
lament the apparent tendency in the North to 
feel that in some way the South must still be 
assured the continuance of the institution of 
slavery. There was a lack of unity of purpose 
and action. "It may be said that if we pro- 
claim freedom to slaves of rebel masters, 
Slavery must suffer and may be extinguished", 
he declared, "I reply: So be it. The friends of 
Slavery have in its supposed interest thrust 



MESSAGE AND INAUGURAL 225 

this war with all its evils upon the country, and 
upon them and upon it be the consequences. It 
may be said the slaves of loyal masters will 
escape, and thus loyal men will suffer loss." 
While the latter result would be regretted it 
should not be a deterrent influence, since the 
interest of many individuals must necessarily 
suffer in the midst of such a conflict. 

''I will not be misunderstood", the speaker 
continued. ' ' This war is waged by our Govern- 
ment for the preservation of the Union, and not 
for the extinction of Slavery, unless the pres- 
ervation of the one shall require the extinction 
of the other. If the war were so prosecuted 
that on to-morrow the preservation of the 
Union were effected and secured, I would not 
now wage the war another day. I would not 
now spend further treasure or further life to 
effect the extinction of Slavery, although I 
might regret that the war of its own producing 
had left in it enough of life to leave it to be our 
bane and pest in the future as it has been in the 
past. But while this is true, it is also true that 
if I had the power on to-morrow to end this 
terrible strife and preserve our Union by the 
extinction of Slavery, while to preserve both 
would require a month's, or a wreck's, or a 
day's, or an hour's further war; the spending 
of a single additional dollar or the loss of a 
single additional life; so surely as the Lord 
lives, this War would close to-morrow." 

16 



226 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

There was every indication now, lie said, that 
the war would be a long, hard struggle. This 
would mean that the people of Iowa must bear 
many burdens. ''Life is valuable, but it is 
intended to be useful; and how can any one 
make his life more useful than by giving it for 
his country?" There would also be heavy 
taxes to pay. "We must give up the idea of 
money making to a great extent until this war 
is over. We must be content to devote to the 
preservation of the country a portion of all the 
surplus we have been accustomed to lay up in 
years gone by. We may be required to return 
to customs and expedients for many years 
abandoned." All these facts must be squarely 
faced with the firm determination that at any 
cost the Union must be preserved. Although 
all its policies might not meet with approval 
the administration at Washington must be 
loyally supported."'"'" 

This address, so outspoken and uncompro- 
mising, did not fail to attract attention. From 
Washington, D. C, came a letter of enthusi- 
astic thanks. "It has received the most flat- 
tering commendation from prominent men 
here", said the writer . "Would to God the 
administration was thoroughly imbued with 
your views, and would act on them."^^^ A few 
wrecks later there was received from far-away 
Denmark a twelve-page communication from 



MESSAGE AND INAUGURAL 227 

one who was apparently a rabid socialist, dis- 
approving of the address at every point.^^^ 

These were days of gloom and foreboding 
throughout the North. Only a few compara- 
tively unimportant victories had thus far 
favored the Union arms. Indecision, ineffi- 
ciency, and delay seemed everywhere to prevail, 
and the prospect was very dark. Even Gov- 
ernor Kirkwood, with all his optimism, was at 
times very dow^nhearted, although he never con- 
fided his fears except to his most intimate 
friends.'^ ^^ 

Such was the situation on the morning of 
February 17, 1862. In the House of Repre- 
sentatives at Des Moines a filibuster was in 
progress over some very inconsequential mat- 
ter. The chief clerk, Charles Aldrich, had 
called the roll until his head ached, and was 
just in the midst of the last roll call when Frank 
W. Palmer, the State Printer, entered the hall 
*'in a manner betokening intense excitement." 
He made his way quickly around the side of the 
room and up to the Speaker's desk. ''In an 
instant, the Speaker, Hon. Rush Clark, of 
Johnson County, sprang to his feet, in the very 
midst of the roll-call, shouting at the top of his 
voice, 'Gen. Grant has captured Fort Donel- 
son!' " A rousing scene ensued. "The mem- 
bers sprang to their feet with the wildest cheers 
and hurrahs that ever woke the echoes of the 



228 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

Old Capitol building. The contemptible little 
political squabble was as completely forgotten 
as though it had happened in some ante-diluvian 
time, and the members went fairly wild, hug- 
ging each other, shaking hands, cheering, and 
in every possible manner giving way to expres- 
sions of extravagant delight. ' ' 

Leaving the capitol building, by common con- 
sent the legislators gathered around the board 
at the old Des Moines House, where the hilarity 
continued unabated, aided it must be confessed 
in many cases by the drinking of much liquor. 
Among the speakers was Governor Kirkwood, 
whose joy over the victory was as great as that 
of anyone, and he made a speech which was 
long remembered — a speech in which he gave 
free vent to his feeling of resentment against 
England because of the Trent affair.^^^ 

The elation over the victory was tempered on 
the morrow, however, when it was learned at 
what fearful cost in men the fort had been won. 
There was mourning in many Iowa homes when 
the death-list came in. To Governor Kirkwood 
it was a source of solemn pride that the Second 
Iowa Regiment had played so conspicuous a 
part in the assault. Shortly before in St. Louis 
that regiment had been publicly disgraced. 
Because of alleged acts of vandalism on the 
part of a few of its members, the whole regi- 
ment had been ordered, by General Schuyler 



MESSAGE AND INAUGURAL 229 

Hamilton, to march through the streets of St. 
Louis with flags furled and without music when 
it was embarking to take its place in the lines 
around Fort Donelson. Governor Kirkwood 
had indignantly returned the copy of the order 
which had been sent to him by General Hamil- 
ton, and had vigorously protested against the 
injustice of the order to General Halleck and 
others.^^^ 

But now the stigma on the good name of the 
Second Iowa was forever removed. ''The flag 
that our 2d Regt could not carry open through 
the streets of St. Louis", he wrote to General 
Hamilton on March 20th, "they did carry 
proudly through the storm of battle at Fort 
Donelson and planted first of all others on the 
entrenchments of that stronghold of treason. 
It now hangs over the chair of the Speaker of 
the House of Representatives and will soon be 
deposited among the most sacred treasures of 
our State in our State Historical Society. I am 
content that what I have done in connection 
with it, shall be so written, that all who see it 
may read the record. The 'miscreants' of 
whom your order speaks either died in uphold- 
ing it on that bloody day or helped carry it 
over the entrenchments. "^^"^ 



XX 

The Governor and His Soldiers 

The adjournment of the General Assembly 
again left Governor Kirkwood free to devote 
his time and energies almost exclusively to 
military affairs. His signal success in this con- 
nection during the succeeding two years gave 
him a prominent place among the loyal execu- 
tives of the northern Commonwealths, and 
made him one of the best loved men in Iowa. 

The first concern of the Governor and his 
military staff was to see that Iowa furnished 
its full quota of men, and to see that they were 
properly trained, equipped and cared for, and 
dispatched in due time to the scene of con- 
flict.^^' On July 2, 1862, there went out from 
Washington the call for three hundred thou- 
sand more troops to be enlisted for a period of 
three years, Iowa's quota being over ten thou- 
sand.^^^ "The Eighteenth Iowa Infantry is 
rapidly organizing", was Kirkwood 's message 
to President Lincoln three days later. ''Shall 
have it ready in about thirty days. Our har- 
vesting prevents rapid recruiting just now. 
Iowa will do her duty. She has furnished 

230 



GOVERNOR AND SOLDIERS 231 

already seventeen regiments of infantry, five 
regiments of cavalry, and three batteries of 
artillery. "^^'^ Shortly afterward he wrote that 
"we have scarcely men enough to save our 
crops, but if need be our w^omen can help."^'**' 

Another call for three hundred thousand men 
was issued on August 4th, but in this case the 
enlistment was to be for a period of only nine 
months. Governor Kirkwood refused to enlist 
men for so short a service. He believed that 
it would be a shortsighted policy to permit 
terms of enlistment to expire just at the time 
when the men so enlisted had gained the train- 
ing and experience required to make them effec- 
tive as soldiers. Happily, the people of Iowa 
were of the same mind with the Governor. In 
fact the response to the previous call was so 
enthusiastic that there was no need to ask for 
enlistments under the call of August 4th; 
although men were still needed to fill the many 
vacancies in the old regiments. 

'*So many troops have offered that we have 
not blankets to enable us to put them in quar- 
ters", was the message sent by Governor Kirk- 
wood to the War Department on August 16th. 
*'Tell me what I shall do with over 100 com- 
panies of volunteers above the 50 under the 
300,000 call for volunteers", demanded Ad- 
jutant General Baker four days later.'^^^ On 
the same day the Governor made the following 
appeal to Secretary Stanton: 



232 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

First. There are companies now full and that will 
])e filled by the 23d to fill eighteen to twenty regi- 
ments. Our whole State appears to be volunteering. 
Second. The companies are now coming into rendez- 
vous as rapidly as I can furnish blankets for them. 
Could have them all in next week if I had blankets 
and could build quarters fast enough. Have blankets 
for only five regiments. Third. I don't want. any 
further time than the 23d. All I want is to put int.) 
regiments all the companies full on that day. If I 
don't get this permission I will have to volunteer 
myself and leave the State. ^^- 

Thus the quotas assigned to Iowa under the 
two calls of the summer of 1862 were filled by 
volunteers within a surprisingly short time. 
But the raising of men to fill the gaps in the 
ranks of the old regiments was a more difficult 
matter. About eight thousand men were needed 
for this purpose. In July the Governor wrote 
to General Halleck, suggesting that recruiting 
officers should be sent to the localities, where the 
companies of the old regiments were originally 
raised, since men would enlist more readily if 
assured that they would be among friends and 
acquaintances.^ ^^ "I am satisfied the old regi- 
ments cannot be filled by voluntary enlistments 
either in this State or in the North West", he 
wrote to Secretary Stanton a month later, 
"The stimulus of nearly forty commissions in 
each regiment is wanting. In my judgment a 



GOVERNOR AND SOLDIERS 233 

draft to fill the old regiments will be necessary. 
Had it not better be ordered by you at once and 
thus save much valuable time — Such is my de- 
cided opinion." In case a draft should be 
ordered he asked permission to discriminate 
between counties, in order that no additional 
burden might fall on those counties which had 
already furnished more than their share of 
men.^-^^ 

An appeal to the people of Iowa for troops 
to fill up the old regiments was issued by Kirk- 
wood on August 20th. He explained that while 
Iowa had furnished more volunteers than had 
been requested by the Federal government, the 
War Department declined to credit the State 
with this excess until the old regiments were 
filled. ^'I appeal then to every man for aid", 
he said. "Let everything else be laid aside, 
until this needed work is done. Let the young 
men whose brothers and friends are in our old 
regiments take their places by their sides." 
If the deficiency were not soon supplied by vol- 
unteering, it would be necessary to resort to a 
draft. ^^^ In fact drafting commissioners were 
appointed and all the machinery was provided 
for putting conscription into operation. 

About the middle of September the Governor 
issued a circular to these commissioners, in- 
forming them that there were enough volun- 
teers to fill Iowa's quotas for new regiments. 



234 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

Thus, to avoid a draft it was only necessary to 
fill the old regiments. ''Still the danger of a 
draft is imminent. The order may reach me on 
any day to commence the draft to fill the regi- 
ments. You will therefore perfect all your 
arrangements for the draft. Have everything 
done that is required of you by the instructions 
heretofore sent you, so that you will be able to 
commence the draft in one day's notice, and 
await such further instructions as may be sent 
you."^'*^ 

The possibility of a draft hung over the 
people of Iowa through the remaining months 
of the year 1862 and throughout the succeeding 
year. Firm in his determination that compul- 
sory measures should be adopted whenever 
volunteering should fail to produce the required 
men, Samuel J. Kirkwood was made the target 
for much bitter criticism. But it so happened 
that the resort to conscription was not neces- 
sary in Iowa until after he had ceased to be 
Governor of the Commonwealth.-^^^ His own 
outspoken loyalty and untiring activity w^as a 
potent influence in accomplishing this result. 

Kirkwood did not rest content, however, 
when the men had been enlisted and mustered 
into service. No parent or relative could have 
been more solicitous for the welfare of the Iowa 
soldiers, individually or collectively. "Say to 
the boys one and all I am delighted with them", 



GOVERNOR AND SOLDIERS 235 

he wrote to an Iowa officer in May, 1862, "and 
expect to hear further from them in the next 
battle. I am fearful in regard to their health. 
I hope YOU wdll insist upon the line officers giv- 
ing personal attention to every thing that may 
prevent sickness. "^^^ 

Late in August he sent out an appeal through 
the press for supplies for the Iowa troops. 
''Your relatives, your friends," he said, ''those 
who by blood and home associations are dear to 
many of you, those whose generous sacrifices 
for the good of our common country should 
endear them to all, are suffering in camp on a 
distant soil, from the want of some of the neces- 
saries of healthy life. . . . The season is at 
hand when vegetable matter is indispensable 
for health. Scurvy, the dread of the soldier; 
and the diseases incident to approaching 
autumn, demand that a full supply should be 
soon on hand ready for distribution." Pota- 
toes, onions, tomatoes, beets, poultry, butter, 
eggs, and fruit were especially desired, as well 
as articles of clothing.^^'-' 

Believing that the needs of the soldiers de- 
manded immediate and more adequate atten- 
tion, the Governor called the General Assembly 
to meet in special session on September 3, 1862. 
On the opening day his message was read before 
both houses. He urged legislation for the bet- 
ter care of sick and wounded soldiers and for 



236 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

their return to their homes on furlough. More 
help was greatly needed in the Adjutant Gen- 
eral's office and the compensation of that busy 
officer should be increased. In order that 
vacancies in the old regiments should be filled 
as they occurred he urged, first, that a camp of 
instruction should be established within the 
State, and second, that provision should be 
made for the payment of bounties to persons 
enlisting in these regiments. 

Especially did Governor Kirkwood recom- 
mend the passage of a law enabling the soldiers 
to vote. "The very life of the Nation is at 
stake," he declared, "and may be as fatally 
lost at the ballot box as on the battle field. 
Under such circumstances it is not only the 
right but the duty of all good citizens to exer- 
cise the right of suffrage, and to see to it that 
the principles for the preservation of which our 
people are so freely offering treasure and life, 
are not jeopardized or lost in the Halls of Leg- 
islation, State or National. A very large 
number of the electors of the State are in the 
army. . . . Under existing laws these citi- 
zens can not vote, and unless these laws can be 
changed it may be that the cause they are peril- 
ing life in the field to maintain, may be lost at 
home through supineness or treachery. I there- 
fore recommend that the laws be so modified 
that all members of Iowa regiments who would 



GOVERNOR AND SOLDIERS 237 

be entitled to vote if at home on the day of 
election, be allowed to vote wherever they may 
be stationed in the United States, and that pro- 
vision be made for receiving and canvassing 
their votes. "^^^ 

Practically all of these recommendations 
were followed by the legislature. Laws were 
enacted which strengthened the hands of the 
Governor and made it possible for Iowa to meet 
the needs of the great conflict more efficiently. 

During the months which followed Governor 
Kirkwood wrote hundreds of letters in the in- 
terests of the Iowa troops. Sometimes it was 
an appeal on behalf of some individual soldier. 
''Nicholas Russell a private in Capt. Robin- 
son's Co in your regiment is said by his father 
to be unfit for service", he wrote to an Iowa 
officer early in December. ''He is at RoUa. 
His mother is much distressed about him — 
says he can do nothing there but die — she 
wants him home. . . . Please give this mat- 
ter special attention and by so doing much 
oblige me."^'^ 

His great solicitude was to be sure that 
everything possible was done to prevent sick- 
ness among the troops and to provide adequate 
care for the sick and wounded. "I at times 
feel almost disheartened in regard to sanitary 
affairs", he confessed in November. "There 
seems to be so much jealousy and ill will among 



238 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

those engaged in the matter that it discourages 
me and will I fear discourage those who have 
been contributing so liberally for this pur- 
pose. "•''•^^ To the surgeon of the First Iowa 
Cavalry he wrote: "I need not impress on you 
the necessity of doing all that can be done for 
our brave boys. Let me say one thing — Don't 
let them lack for any thing. Red tape or no red 
tape see they have all they need. "^'^ 

In March, 1863, Kirkwood wrote to General 
Halleck urging that provision be made for the 
discharge of permanently disabled soldiers, 
and for the return to Iowa of many others who 
needed rest and medical treatment. It was his 
belief that many men died in hospitals in the 
South who could be saved at home.-''^^ ''Please 
send me by express fifteen hundred dollars of 
extra contingent fund ' ', he wrote to the Auditor 
of State at about this time. "The sickness of 
our soldiers is making heavy drafts on me. If I 
have got down to the appropriation at the extra 
session get this approved by the Census Board 
— I want it immediately. ' '•'^'^•^ In June he wrote 
a long letter to Secretary Stanton relative to 
the care of sick and wounded soldiers. He 
insisted that the Iowa men should be brought to 
Keokuk, where there were between 1000 and 
1500 vacant beds. Later he made an urgent 
appeal to General Grant.-^-'^*' 

Kirkwood 's activities in behalf of the welfare 



GOVERNOR AND SOLDIERS 239 

of the troops did not stop with the writing of 
letters, nor did he base his knowledge solely on 
the evidence of others. He made many personal 
visits to the camps and hospitals where Iowa 
men were to be found, in order to judge for 
himself concerning their treatment and needs. 
Cairo, St. Louis, Helena, the battle lines around 
Fort Donelson and Vicksburg, and many other 
distant places, to say nothing of the various 
points of rendezvous in Iowa, were visited by 
the Governor and members of his staff. Every- 
where his coming was hailed with delight and 
he came into personal and friendly contact with 
soldiers of all ranks from private to general. 
The feeling of the Iowa troops was reflected in 
the correspondence from a soldier in a regiment 
stationed in the rear of Vicksburg. ' ' Gov. 
Kirkwood and Adj. Gen. Baker were here on the 
10th ' ', he wrote. ' ' The Governor is the same in 
'Dixie' that he is in Iowa." It was doubtless on 
this occasion that the Confederates, attracted by 
the cheering when the Governor was addressing 
the troops, proceeded to shell the locality where 
he was speaking.-^ •'^" 

The exchange of prisoners was another mat- 
ter which required of Governor Kirkwood no 
small amount of correspondence and caused 
him no little vexation. Especially was this true 
in the case of the Iowa men captured by the 
Confederates at the battle of Shiloli. After 



240 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

being' held for a time they were released on 
parole. Being quartered at Benton Barracks, 
they were ordered to relieve a Missouri regi- 
ment in the performance of guard duty. This 
order they considered a violation of their parole 
oaths and they refused to obey. Thereupon, 
some of the officers were placed in the guard- 
house and the men were made to feel the dis- 
pleasure of the authorities in charge at St. 
Louis. 

Kirkwood considered this treatment to be 
very unjust. As early as June, 1862, he began 
his efforts for the relief of these men. "I object 
to Iowa soldiers who are on parole doing any- 
thing which by implication or indirection may 
make them violate that parole", declared Ad- 
jutant General Baker to the Secretary of War 
on July 21st. "Most of these men are at 
Benton Barracks and should be furloughed to 
their homes until exchanged. They are as 
brave and willing men as ever lived. . . . 
Do not allow punishment to brave and gallant 
men who have done their duty."^^^ On the 
following day the Governor wrote a letter, less 
peremptory in tone, to Secretary Stanton; and 
soon he received assurance that an exchange 
would be made and that the men would be 
released from any necessity of violating their 
parole.^^^ 

But as late as the middle of October the men 



GOVERNOR AND SOLDIERS 241 

were still at Benton Barracks. "Governor 
Kirkwood directs me again to call your atten- 
tion to the Iowa soldiers taken prisoners by the 
rebels at the battle of Shiloh," was the message 
of N. H. Brainerd to Stanton, ''All the rebel 
prisoners taken at Donelson, Shiloh and Island 
No. 10, in large part by Iowa troops, have been 
returned to the rebels, but no Iowa man received 
in exchange. Our people know this and are 
greatly dissatisfied and feel that the Govern- 
ment is not treating our troops fairly. . . . 
Will you inform me why it is that no Iowa man 
is exchanged f"^*^^ It was not until November 
17th that the Governor received word that all 
the Iowa troops captured at Shiloh had been 
exchanged.^ ^^ 

Again, the securing of recognition for the ser- 
vices of Iowa men through promotions was an 
object close to the Governor's heart. He was 
ahvays quick to resent any slights to Iowa men, 
and w^as constantly alert to obtain all possible 
appointments for them. In a letter to Lincoln, 
for instance, early in December, 1861, he called 
attention to the fact that Iowa had not received 
its due proportion of Brigadier Generals. Such 
appointments, he said, would foster State pride 
and improve the service; and he proposed the 
names of Nicholas Perczel, Marcellus M. 
Crocker, M. L. Elliott, and Grenville M. 
Dodge.^^- Later he urged Senator Grimes to 

17 



242 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

use his influence to secure the promotion of 
Iowa men. Grenville M. Dodge he considered 
to be one of the best military men in the State. 
"Tuttle's charge at Donelson", he added, "is 
one of the most brilliant things of this or any 
other war. I have been over the ground he 
charged over & I believe that none but Iowa 
troops could have done it."-^*'^ 

But the wheels of the government at Wash- 
ington turned slowly. "I am perfectly dis- 
gusted with the action of the authorities in 
regard to Brigadierships from Iowa", Kirk- 
wood wrote to Crocker on February 28, 1863. 
'^ There were six recommendations. . . . That 
slate was broken and a new one made up. How 
it was made I don 't know except that your name 
was on it & I hope will be kept on. I am told 
that Halleck makes these slates. I have argued, 
remonstrated & sworn about this matter,"-'''^ 

To be sure there were many men who were 
sorely disappointed when expected promotions 
did not come to them, and too frequently they 
placed the blame on the Governor. In most 
cases he replied with patience and absence of 
resentment. When one officer complained that 
"while you repeatedly acknowledged my just 
claims to promotion, you gave preference to 
such as can command political influence, which 
I do not",-^'"' the Governor calmly denied the 
charge and explained the course he had fol- 



GOVERNOR AND SOLDIERS 243 

lowed. "Write me often & frankly," he added. 
"If you think you have cause for complaint, 
complain boldly. I can bear criticism, blame, 
even reproach from one whom I esteem as sin- 
cere & honest as I do you. "^'^*^ 

"There are thousands of men Captain in the 
ranks as good as either of us", he admonished a 
captain laboring under a feeling of unjust treat- 
ment, "and when I am disposed to complain of 
the extent of my labors and the injustice I at 
times receive I think of those poor fellows & try 
to bear all cheerfully." In conclusion he 
wished the captain "a speedy restoration to 
health and a future as useful & honorable as 
your past has been".'^'^' 

Only occasionally did he permit anger to show 
itself in his letters to soldiers, no matter what 
the provocation. But he stated exactly what 
was in his mind to a certain colonel who refused 
to deliver a commission which had been awarded 
to a member of his regiment. ' ' In regard to the 
matter of Lieut. Peacock", Governor Kirkwood 
WTote, "I have only this to say. I have already 
forwarded to him a duplicate commission. 
Should this not have reached him I direct you 
to deliver the commission sent you by me for 
him. Should you continue to refuse to deliver 
it ... or should you for the future refuse 
to deliver any other commission sent you for an 
officer of your regiment I will report you to the 



244 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

Secretary of War as guilty of conduct unbecom- 
ing an officer and ask that you be punished. 
. . . Your letter, although perhaps such as 
is worthy you is not worthy your place. Until 
you withdraw it and apologize for it I cannot 
recognize any further recommendations from 
you for promotions in your regiment. "^*^^ 

In the midst of the multifarious details which 
required attention it is truly remarkable that 
the Governor found time to write by his own 
hand literally hundreds of friendly letters to 
soldiers. Letters of praise and encouragement, 
words of fatherly advice, and messages of 
gentle reproof were dispatched at every pos- 
sible opportunity. ''I congratulate you very 
sincerely on your promotion. I wish all similar 
ones were as well earned and would be as 
worthily worn", he wrote to Grenville M. 
Dodge, when he had been promoted to the posi- 
tion of Brigadier General.^*^^ "The State of 
Iowa will cherish in unwavering memory and in 
the hearts of her people the glorious career of 
her Sons in the field who thus in the fray of 
deadly battle attest the devotion of the State to 
the Union, liberty and the law. "^''*^ This was a 
portion of a letter to Col. D. B. Hillis in praise 
of the valiant conduct of his regiment in the 
battle of Corinth. ''Hoping you may soon get 
your pay and leave to return home a short time 
and that you will be a good soldier while in ser- 



GOVERNOR AND SOLDIERS 245 

vice and a good man after your return", were 
his closing words to a private who was sick in a 
hospital at Keokuk.^"^^ 

"If there be no truth in the reports no harm 
is done to any one", wrote Kirkwood to a 
colonel who had been accused of drunkenness, 
"and if unfortunately you have perhaps uncon- 
sciously fallen into this error may I not hope 
the fact that it is known & is a source of deep 
regret to your best friends w^ill induce you to 
retrieve yourself! The good name & fame of 
your regiment is dear to every citizen of Iowa, 
and may I not confidently hope that you will 
not do any thing that will tend to the injury of 
either? Believe me this letter is written in all 
kindness & if you will allow me to say so with 
the most friendly spirit. "^'^^ When another 
Iowa colonel was in trouble because of his 
refusal to obey an order which he believed un- 
justified, the Governor wrote a letter of sym- 
pathy and friendly counsel. "It loohs to me as 
it does to you as if it were an intentional 
slight", he wrote. "But Colonel I regret you 
did not obey the order even if it was an im- 
proper one technically. My experience in life 
shows me it is better to treat these small annoy- 
ances with the contempt they deserve and not 
magnify them into matters of importance by 
opposition to them. Your regiment is suffering 
and must continue to suffer by reason of your 
arrest. "^"^^ 



246 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

These are only illustrations of the many let- 
ters which strengthened the affection which the 
Iowa soldiers felt for the Governor who took 
such a friendly, personal interest in their wel- 
fare. In return a great many of them wrote 
letters to him, telling of army life, of their 
needs, their hopes and ambitions, and often- 
times sending relics for the collections of the 
State Historical Society. 



XXI 

The Altoona Meeting of Loyal Goveknoks 

The many duties of his office did not drive from 
Governor Kirkwood's mind a feeling of dis- 
satisfaction with the manner in which the war 
was being prosecuted — a feeling which grew 
apace during the summer of 1862. The western 
armies, to be sure, had given good accounts of 
themselves ; but in the East there was delay and 
inaction. General McClellan, with a magnificent 
army which idolized him and with the best 
equipment that could be afforded, still displayed 
his characteristic reluctance to engage the 
enemy. Then early in September the Confed- 
erate army under Robert E. Lee swept into 
Maryland, thus threatening Baltimore and 
Washington. To many people in the North the 
Union seemed to be tottering to its fall. 

It was during this disheartening period that 
Kirkwood received a telegram from Governor 
Andrew G. Curtin of Pennsylvania, and later a 
circular letter signed by two or three additional 
State executives, urging him to attend a meet- 
ing of loyal Governors to be held at the little 
mountain town of Altoona, Pennsylvania, on 

247 



248 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

September 24tli. The critical situation of tlie 
country, it was felt, demanded united action. 
It was furthermore believed that a loyal address 
on the part of the State executives would infuse 
new hope into the North and give the President 
the support he needed. At the same time, it 
was evidently the plan that the conference 
should result in the giving of some very plain 
advice to the administration concerning the 
conduct of military affairs and the desirability 
of emancipation. As it turned out a portion of 
this contemplated advice was rendered unneces- 
sary. On September 17th the Confederate 
advance was halted and rolled back at the 
bloody battle of Antietam; and while on the 
train traveling to the conference Samuel J. 
Kirkwood read in a newspaper President 
Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation of Sep- 
tember 22nd. 

Nevertheless, there were still many matters 
which the conference could profitably discuss. 
At least twelve Governors were present, and 
others were represented by proxies.-^"^ *'The 
Proclamation was freely discussed by us", said 
Governor Kirkwood many years later. "Its 
issuance by the President was heartily approved 
by most if not all present, and it was resolved 
that an address to the President should be pre- 
pared for presentation to him expressing that 
approval. Governor Andrew was appointed to 



ALTOONA MEETING 249 

prepare the address and lie did so. We then 
discussed the condition of military affairs and 
especially the fitness of Gen. McClellan for mili- 
tary command. On this point there was some 
difference of opinion, but my recollection is that 
a decided majority were of opinion that the 
public welfare would be promoted by his retire- 
ment from the command of the Army of the 
Potomac. ' ' 

A New York newspaper declared it had 
Kirkwood's permission to state that his was 
the strongest statement in the conference 
against McClellan. He was quoted as saying 
that McClellan ''had done wrong in allowing 
bad men and bad newspapers who were doing 
all in their power to help the rebellion to suc- 
cess, to be his peculiar champions, although he 
knew that ten words from his lips would send 
them to hell, where they belonged. ""^'-^ 

It was decided, however, that the address to 
the President should not contain a reference to 
General McClellan, but that the Governors 
would go to Washington and have a personal 
interview with Lincoln. The plan was carried 
out, and a private interview was arranged at 
the request of the Governors, since they be- 
lieved it best that such differences of opinion 
as they might have should not be made public. 
The address which had been prepared Was read 
bv Governor John A. Andrew of Massachusetts. 



250 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

In it the executives expressed their "heartfelt 
gratitude" for the proclamation, and their 
unalterable determination to stand by the Pres- 
ident in all his efforts to push the war to a 
speedy and decisive conclusion. 

After the reply of the President, some of the 
Governors expressed their opinions concerning 
General McClellan, Among those whose opinion 
was unfavorable none was more outspoken than 
Governor Kirkwood. This was perhaps nat- 
ural. As the executive of a western State, he 
keenly felt that although most of the victories 
of the war had been won by western armies due 
attention had not been given to the armies of 
the west. 

''What had the army of the Potomac done?", 
he asked later in life when explaining his atti- 
tude toward McClellan. "It had done as much 
and as hard fighting as the western armies but 
with what result! If the results w^ere not 
glorious and profitable the fault was not with 
the soldiers ; where was it ! I then thought and 
still think it was with the commander. He was 
often in a quarrel with the President, the Cab- 
inet and the Radicals, as he called a large 
portion of the republican members of congress. 
He seemed to think the salvation of the country 
depended on him alone and was continually 
complaining. . . . The army of the Poto- 
mac had the first and best of every thing and 



ALTOONA MEETING 251 

our western armies had what was left. The 
army of the Potomac was better and sooner 
armed, better clothed, better equipped in every 
way than our w^estern armies. The public posi- 
tion I then held compelled me to know it, and I 
was sometimes angry, and I fear at times a 
little profane about it, and yet our western 
troops were always doing something and 
McClellan was only getting ready." 

Thus it was that in speaking for himself and 
the people of Iowa, Governor Kirkwood told the 
President that he believed that General McClel- 
lan was unfit to command an army. Although 
his men were well equipped, well disciplined, 
and fought as bravely as men ever fought, they 
were constantly being defeated. 

''You Iowa people then judge generals as 
you do lawyers," said Lincoln, with one of his 
genial smiles, "by their success in trying- 
cases." 

"Yes," replied Kirkwood, "something like 
that ; the lawyer who is always losing his cases, 
especially when he was right and had justice on 
his side don 't get much practice in Iowa. ' ' 

After the talk continued thus good-naturedly 
for some time, Kirkwood spoke even more 
directly what was on his mind. "Mr. Presi- 
dent," he said, "our Iowa people fear and I 
fear that the Administration is afraid to re- 
move Gen. McClellan." 



252 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

The color mounted to Lincoln's cheek and the 
Iowa executive saw that he had been too abrupt, 
^'Understand me," he hastened to explain, "we 
fear that the strong efforts made by Gen. 
McClellan and his toadies in the army to attach 
his soldiers to him personally and their efforts 
and the efforts of a certain class of politicians 
outside the army to cause his soldiers to believe 
that the severe criticisms to which the General 
has been subjected are intended to apply to 
them (the soldiers) as well as to him (their 
commander) have so prejudiced his soldiers' 
minds as to make it unsafe to remove him for 
fear his removal might cause insubordination, 
perhaps mutiny; that is what I meant when I 
spoke of your being afraid to remove him. ' ' 

"Gov. Kirkwood," replied Lincoln slowly 
and with emphasis, after a brief silence, "if I 
believed our cause would be benefited by remov- 
ing Gen. McClellan to-morrow, I would remove 
him to-morrow. I do not so believe to-day, but 
if the time shall come when I shall so believe I 
will remove him promptly, and not till then." 

In spite of the frankness of this reply, or 
perhaps because of it, Samuel J. Kirkwood went 
away well satisfied. He realized that the prol)- 
lem was one for the proper solution of which 
the President must take the responsibility, and 
he knew that Lincoln meant and would do just 
what he said. 



XXII 

Border Defense 

Although far removed from the scenes of 
decisive combat between North and South, the 
soil of Iowa was not wholly without danger of 
invasion. Governor Kirkwood's chief and most 
arduous task was to make sure that this State 
did its full share in the struggle to preserve the 
Union. But almost equally pressing was the 
necessity of protecting the people of Iowa 
against threatened inroads by border ruffians 
from Missouri and redskins from the north and 
west. 

Scarcely had the war begun when there came 
disquieting reports from the Missouri border. 
There was great uncertainty concerning the 
course which Missouri might pursue. "I have 
strong hope Missouri will have too much sense 
to attack us", Kirkwood wrote on April 30th, 
''Exposed as she is on three sides, to Illinois, 
Iowa & Kansas a border war on her part will be 
madness but it is well to be prepared. Impress 
on your people the necessity of good order on 
their part towards Missourians unless attacked. 
Act only on the defensive until an attack is 

253 



254 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

made. Should any outbreak occur notify me at 
once. ' ' At the same time he urged that ' ' minute 
men" should be organized in all the southern 
counties, with such arms as were to be found, 
and that these companies should hold them- 
selves in readiness to respond to a call on short 
notice. ''This is not what I would like to do", 
he said, "or what perhaps is the best thing 
could be done if we had arms but is the best 
thing can be done now, "^"*' 

In a letter to a citizen of Missouri a few days 
later the Governor declared that if there were 
hostilities between the people of Missouri and 
the people of Iowa they must be begun by the 
former. But, he added, "if we are attacked we 
will take what w^e deem the best means of de- 
fense even if that should be to carry the war 
across our border into Missouri."^'" 

About the middle of May, 1861, he appointed 
John Edwards of Chariton and Cyrus Bussey 
of Bloomfield as special aids, with large dis- 
cretionary powers, to organize means of pre- 
serving tranquillity in the border counties. "I 
was well satisfied the peace of our State would 
be more easily preserved by preventing inva- 
sion than by repelling it," said the Governor 
later in describing his activities to the legis- 
lature, "and therefore while I could not order 
our State troops beyond our State line, I in- 
structed Colonels Edwards and Bussev, and 



BORDER DEFENSE 255 

through them the troops under their command, 
that if at any time the loyal men of Northern 
Missouri were in peril and called upon them for 
assistance, they had as full authority as I could 
give them to lead their men into Missouri to the 
aid of the loyal men there, and my promise upon 
their return that my power should be used to 
the utmost extent to protect them, if called in 
question for so doing. "^'^^ 

As a matter of fact Iowa men did cross over 
into Missouri on several occasions during the 
summer of 1861. Late in July, for instance, 
John Edwards reported that ''at least 1,500 
citizens of Iowa left their harvest fields and 
families and rushed into Missouri to the relief 
of the Union men. These citizens were armed 
in every conceivable manner, without officers, 
system, or drill. "^'^ Nevertheless, the assist- 
ance thus rendered was effective and the Gov- 
ernor received assurances of appreciation from 
loyal officers and citizens of Missouri. 

All through the summer and fall of 1861 there 
was uneasiness in southern Iowa. Inspired by 
Confederate successes, strong bands of rebels 
continued to harass northern Missouri, and to 
threaten vengeance against the people of Iowa 
who on several occasions had helped to thwart 
their designs. "A battle lost at this time by 
General Fremont", wrote Kirkwood to Lincoln 
early in October, "would lay all our southern 



256 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

border open to devastation and plunder by the 
victors, and while we have strong trust that 
success and not defeat awaits us, the probability 
of a different result naturally excites alarm. "^^*^ 

In order to be ready for any emergency Gov- 
ernor Kirkwood appointed men in all the 
counties along the southern border to organize 
all the able-bodied men into companies and 
regiments for home protection. ''As you are 
aware," he wrote in a circular letter to the 
officers thus appointed, "the State is not prop- 
erly armed, nor can arms be had at present by 
the State. Under these circumstances you will 
require every man in your county having pri- 
vate arms to report the number and kind of 
arms he has. Double-barreled shotguns and 
hunting rifles, although not the best, are good 
arms in the hands of brave men."^^^ 

Thus with characteristic vigor and common 
sense did Governor Kirkwood direct measures 
for home defense. Fortunately, the time soon 
came when all danger from invasion by organ- 
ized Confederate forces from Missouri was 
removed. But bands of guerrillas infested the 
region throughout the war,^^- and no section of 
the border was safe from the raids of these out- 
laws bent on horse-stealing, plunder, and de- 
struction. "I wrote you over a year ago in 
regard to bushwhackers from your State who 
were doing much mischief among us", wrote 



BORDER DEFENSE 257 

Earkwood to the Governor of Missouri in 
March, 1863. ''This thing has now reached a 
point when self protection requires the author- 
ities of this State to take some steps for the 
removal of these men." He insisted that co- 
operation on the part of the Missouri executive 
was demanded, if for no other reason, on the 
ground of "a proper comity to this State, which 
is not willing to have its peace endangered by 
vagabonds, robbers and murderers from Mis- 
souri. '"^^^ Until the very end of his adminis- 
tration no small part of Governor Kirkwood's 
correspondence had to do with troubles on the 
Missouri border. 

Meanwhile the situation on the western and 
northern borders of the State was equally 
alarming. All northwestern Iowa, from Coun- 
cil Blutfs to Kossuth County, was still an Indian 
frontier, and the memory of the Spirit Lake 
massacre of 1857 was fresh in the minds of the 
settlers. When the garrisons at the military 
posts on the upper Missouri and in the north- 
west were weakened or wholly withdrawn at the 
outbreak of the war, the redskins soon showed 
signs of increasing restlessness. Apprehension 
grew apace in the small villages and scattered 
settlements in northwestern Iowa, and the 
problem of defense was one of the many sub- 
jects claiming the Governor's attention. 

Even before Fort Sumter had been fired upon 

18 



258 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

Kirkwood wrote to the Secretary of War asking 
for arms for the protection of the frontier. 
This plea was reiterated immediately after the 
beginning of hostilities, when he requested that 
five hundred long-range rifles be sent to Council 
Bluffs and an equal number to Sioux City/''*^^ 
In reply to these and other urgent appeals, the 
War Department informed the Governor that 
the troops called into service by the government 
would not be taken out of the State immedi- 
ately and that they would be furnished with 
arms which would be sent to Keokuk. The 
Secretary of War felt that these troops could be 
used in case of emergency and until other 
arrangements could be made.^'^^ 

"In regard to furnishing arms for the 
militia," was Kirkwood 's somewhat impatient 
answer to this suggestion, "you propose to 
place 1,000 stand of arms 'at Keokuk, in charge 
of Colonel Curtis, or some other responsible 
person, to be used in case of emergency.' In 
reply I can only say that if by this it is intended 
that the arms shall remain in Keokuk until an 
attack is actually made by Indians, and then be 
used to repel such attack, such arrangement will 
not be of practical benefit. Keokuk is at least 
300 miles from Council Bluffs, and nearly or 
quite 400 miles from Sioux City, in which region 
the Indians will be troublesome, if at all. 
Between Keokuk and either of these points 



BORDER DEFENSE 259 

there are only about 80 miles of railroad, and 
the balance of the way arms, &c., must be car- 
ried by wagon. The Indians might invade our 
State, do incalculable injury, and be gone be- 
yond our reach long before an express could 
reach Keokuk and the arms taken to the point 
of attack. "38« 

Caleb Baldwin of Council Bluffs and A. W. 
Hubbard of Sioux City were appointed as aids, 
to act for the Governor and keep him informed. 
Companies of mounted men were organized and 
called into service for short periods at different 
times. Up to January, 1862, Kirkwood was 
able to report, no Indian raids had occurred.*^ ^" 

But during the summer of 1862 feverish 
excitement prevailed in northern Iowa. The 
Sioux Indians went on the war-path in southern 
Minnesota. Plundering and burning dwellings 
as they went, the savages massacred hundreds 
of settlers, especially in the vicinity of New Ulm 
just north of the Iowa line. The news of this 
uprising spread terror among the scattered 
settlements in north-central Iowa, and many 
vsquatters deserted their homes and fled for 
safety to the more thickly settled portion of the 
State.^^^ It was a situation which demanded 
prompt action. 

"I am informed there is probable danger of 
an attack by hostile Indians, on the inhabitants 
of the Northwestern portion of our State", 



260 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

wrote Governor Kirkwood to S, R. Ingham on 
August 29tli, *'You will please proceed at once 
to Fort Dodge and to such other points there as 
you may deem proper. Use the arms, ammu- 
nition and money placed at your disposal in 
such manner as your judgment may dictate as 
best to promote the object in view, to-wit: the 
protection of the inhabitants of the frontier. 
. . . Use your discretion in all things, and 
exercise any power I could exercise if I were 
present, according to your best discretion. "^^^ 

Two weeks later the Governor issued general 
orders for the organization of five companies of 
State troops to defend the frontier, which had 
been authorized by the General Assembly at the 
special session of 1862. Realizing that it would 
be impossible to maintain troops on the border 
permanently, he suggested that block-houses, 
surrounded by stockades, should be erected at 
frequent intervals in the threatened area. 
"These houses and grounds", he said, "are 
intended as rallying points in the future for the 
settlers in cases like the present, at which they 
can maintain themselves until help can reach 
them. This, in my judgment, is the only way in 
which security can ever be given to the bor- 
der. "^'^" About the same time he sent an 
urgent telegram to the War Department asking 
for arms and ammunition.^ ^^ 

The Governor's orders were faithfullv car- 



BORDER DEFENSE 261 

ried out. Five companies were raised and 
organized into what was known as the Northern 
Iowa Border Brigade. "About two hundred 
and fifty men, rank and file, were distributed 
among several towns situated between Chain 
Lakes in Emmet County and Sioux City, and 
soon block-houses and stockades were erected, 
chiefly at local expense, at Correctionville, 
Cherokee, Peterson, Estherville, and on the 
Minnesota border at Iowa Lake in the north- 
eastern corner of Emmet County. "^^- The 
State troops were later disbanded and their 
places taken by United States troops. But the 
prompt organization of a military force and the 
erection of forts and places of refuge for the 
settlers restored a feeling of security in north- 
western Iowa, and prevented the Indians from 
invading this State. After the summer of 1862 
there ceased to be any serious danger in that 
quarter, although as late as January, 1864, 
Governor Kirkwood urged that means of pro- 
tection on the frontier be maintained.^ ^^ 



XXIII 

Fire in the Rear 

A BRAVE enemy in the open field may be met 
with a full knowledge of the conditions and 
magnitude of the struggle. Thus, it soon be- 
came clear to Governor Kirkwood and those in 
authority w^ith him that Iowa's duty in the great 
war was to devote all its resources of men and 
money to the one common object of bringing 
defeat to the armies of the South. The problem 
of border protection was also plain : it was 
largely a matter of securing the means of 
defense. But there were dangers more insidi- 
ous than those arising from bushwhackers from 
Missouri or red men on the northwestern 
frontier. There were enemies at home — 
enemies whose activities were carried on in 
secret and oftentimes under the cover of 
darkness. 

During the early days of the w^ar personal 
protests and factional strife were swallowed up 
in the enthusiasm of patriotism which revealed 
the true feelings of the vast majority of the 
people of Iowa. If there were those who har- 
bored ill-will toward the North they were care- 

262 



FIRE IN THE REAR 263 

fill at first not to betray their feelings. But as 
the difficulties of the government, both in State 
and Nation, increased and as Confederate suc- 
cesses gave encouragement to southern sympa- 
thizers it became apparent that in almost every 
community in Iowa and especially in certain 
sections there were men whose loyalty could not 
be trusted. The term "Copperhead" came to 
be applied to these men, whose courage or 
sympathy for the South w^as not strong enough 
to induce them to cast their lot with the Con- 
federate army, but who sought secretly to sow 
the seeds of discord and hamper the govern- 
ment in every possible manner. 

It was during the summer of 1862, when it 
seemed likely that a draft would be put into 
effect, that Governor Kirkwood first received 
warnings of the real seriousness of the anti- 
Union agitation in Iowa. A letter from Fair- 
field in August threw light on the character of 
an applicant for a position in the medical corps. 
"Only last Friday," declared the writer, this 
person "said speaking of the draft, 'What if a 
draft is made? It will be resisted. I know of 
six rifles laid away ready for use to fight against 
it whenever the thing is attempted ' — and he 
said it in a bullying way — as if he would him- 
self resist. "^^^ 

By the latter part of November the Governor 
was in possession of enough information to 



264 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

convince him that disloyal sentiment in Iowa 
"^ could not be ignored. He wrote to Senator 
Grimes that troops must be stationed in Iowa 
to quell resistance in case the draft should be 
ordered. ''I wish the authorities would pursue 
a different course", he continued, "in regard to 
persons arrested for disloyalty — either not 
make any arrests or else provide military com- 
missions for the trial of those arrested. 
Mahoney's arrest was a good thing — his dis- 
charge without trial in my judgment a bad 
thing. There are still in confinement in this 
State several persons arrested in Madison 
"^ County, members of Lodges of Knights of the 
Golden Circle. They ought to be tried and 
disposed of."^^^ 

It was openly charged in an Iowa City news- 
paper that Kirkwood favored the draft, because 
it would necessitate the making of many ap- 
pointments, which in turn would further his 
aspirations for the senatorship. Even a strong 
Republican newspaper at Keokuk voiced its 
opposition to the draft.^*^*^ It is no wonder, 
therefore, that as the months went by the situ- 
ation in some localities became more and more 
alarming. "I am, very reluctantly, compelled 
to believe there is danger of an outbreak in our 
own State in favor of the rebellion, unless 
measures be taken to prevent it", wrote the 
Governor in February, 1863. "I am now taking 



FIRE IN THE REAR 265 

the necessary steps to have a volunteer Com- 
pany of undoubtedly loyal men organized and 
armed in each one of the second tier of counties 
from our south line.""''^ 

''By all means keep the State arms & ammu- 
nition in your hands and don't give them up to 
any one without a written order from Adjt. Gen. 
Baker, Mr. Barner one of my aids in Fremont 
Co. or myself", he wrote to a captain in 
Decatur County two weeks later. "If any 
attempt is made to get these arms from you, 
resist by force. "^^^ "Things look badly in 
places in our State", he warned Caleb Baldwin. 
"Are the arms safe?"^^^ In an urgent letter to 
Secretary Stanton on March 10th Kirkwood 
requested that the State be furnished with arms. 
"It is a fact that unscrupulous men are organ- 
izing and arming for the purpose of resisting a 
draft under the conscription law", he said, 
"and those under their control will be pushed 
into acts of hostility to the Government unless 
there is such a state of preparation as to make 
it hopeless, "•^^^ "I am quietly taking steps to 
counteract the efforts of the ' Copperheads ' and 
to be prepared for them", he informed a citizen 
of northern Iowa on the following day. "It 
would be a terrible thing to have civil war with 
all its horrors in our State, and if it comes I 
intend it shall be terribly atoned for by those 
who bring it upon us."^*^^ 



266 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

There was evidence that disaffection in Iowa 
was being fomented by influences and agents 
from outside the State. On March 13, 1863, 
Governor Kirkwood expressed to Secretary 
Stanton his belief that "paid agents of the 
rebels" were operating in lowa.'*^'- Ten days 
later he issued a proclamation to the people of 
Iowa, declaring that refugees from Missouri, 
many of whom had been Confederate soldiers 
or guerrillas, had fled to Iowa to escape punish- 
ment for their crimes. "These men," he said, 
"by bold and fierce denunciations of certain 
acts of the President and the Congress of the 
United States as unconstitutional, and by indus- 
triously teaching that the citizen may lawfully 
resist with force what he deems an unconstitu- 
tional act or law, and in other ways, are seeking 
to array such as may be duped and deceived by 
their artful and wicked machinations into 
armed resistance to the General Government, 
and to inaugurate civil war within our limits, 
thus exposing their dupes to the punishment 
due to traitors, and our State to the storm of 
war which has swept as with fire the State of 
Missouri. These men are endeavoring to in- 
duce our soldiers in the field to desert their 
colors, thus exposing them to the penalty of 
desertion, which is death; and are endeavoring 
to induce our citizens to violate the law by 
resisting the arrest of deserters, and a conscrip- 



FIRE IN THE REAR 267 

tioii in this State if ordered, thereby exposing 
themselves to the punishment dne such criminal 
acts." 

The Governor, therefore, warned these un- 
welcome intruders that a continuation of their 
activities would surely lead to their punishment 
and that he had requested the proper officials to 
keep a close watch on their conduct. "I also 
warn all the good people of the State," he con- 
tinued, ''as they value peace and good order, 
and would avoid the horrors of civil war, not to 
be misled by these wicked and designing men, 
who have nothing to lose, hope for plunder and 
profit in the license of civil war. The laws of 
the General Government ivill be enforced among 
us at any cost and at all hazards, and the men 
who array themselves in armed resistance to 
the laws will certainly be overpowered and 
punished.""*"^ 

The most impressive and conspicuous mani- 
festation of disloyalty in Iowa was presented by 
the organization known as the Knights of the 
Golden Circle. This was a secret society or 
lodge, which in February, 1863, was said to be 
organized in every township in the State and to 
have as many as forty-two thousand members. 
It was reported that each member took an oath 
to support the Constitution of the United States 
as it then stood, to resist the draft and all orders 
issued by the existing administration, and to do 



/ 



268 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

all in their power "to unite the States of the 
Northwest with the Southern Confederacy". 
They held secret meetings, frequently com- 
mencing at midnight; and it was asserted that 
they were collecting and storing arms and 
ammunition.^^^ 

"If you fight the Devil you must use fire. 
Deception is permissible in detecting traitors 
who are trying to betray the country", Kirk- 
wood wrote to a citizen of southern Iowa who 
had secured some first-hand information con- 
cerning the Knights of the Golden Circle. "I 
wish your friend would go on with these 
scoundrels and learn all their secrets & plans 
and then we will be ready to meet them."^*^'"^ 
"General statements that men are disloyal will 
do no good", he told another friend. "Specific 
acts and sayings must be given in the form of 
affidavits in all cases. Cannot you ascertain 
what is said and done at some of these secret 
meetings — what resolutions are passed and 
what course of action resolved onl"^*^*^ "There 
are secret societies all through the southern & 
central portions of the State", he informed 
Nathan Udell, "and even in the north part, in 
which treason is openly taught and prepara- 
tions made for an outbreak. ... I assure 
you doctor this is not ' a scare ' on my part. We 
have been in great danger and are yet in some 
danger of having rebellion with all its accom- 



FIRE IN THE REAR 269 

paniments in Iowa. I have been preparing for 
it and the men who find their plans thwarted by 
my preparations are 'howling' against me. Let 
them howl. I will not have rebellion and civil 
war here if I can help it and if they come I will 
try to be prepared to crush them. "^^" 

Agents whose loyalty was beyond suspicion 
were appointed in every doubtful county. 
Companies of home guards were raised and 
held in readiness to act in case of disturbance. 
Arms and ammunition were distributed so far 
as possible, and the Governor made appeals to 
Secretary Stanton for more adequate means of 
defense. ' ' There is undoubtedly a feverish and 
excited state of the public mind," he wrote on 
March 13, 1863, "and matters must be managed 
here prudently and firmly, or a collision may 
ensue. ... I scarcely know what to advise 
in regard to these men who are talking treason, 
huzzaing for Jeff. Davis, organizing the Knights 
of the Golden Circle, &c. It would be worse 
than useless to arrest them unless they can be 
tried, and if found guilty, punished. If arrests 
could be made, trials and convictions had, and 
punishment sharply administered, the effect 
would be excellent.""*"^ 

Fortunately it was not necessary to enforce 
the draft in Iowa during Governor Kirkwood's 
administration, and hence the threat of resist- 
ance was not put to a test. But there were 



270 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

many cases of violence in communities where 
southern sympathizers were numerous. ^^'^ Feel- 
ing ran high in such communities and it required 
only a small incident to arouse the mob spirit 
and produce serious disorder. It was just such 
circumstances which gave rise to the dramatic 
episode known as "The Tally War" in Keokuk 
County.^i*^ 

The quiet little town of South English was 
the scene of a tragedy on Saturday, August 1, 
1863, which threatened to precipitate a ven- 
detta, if not a miniature civil war, in south- 
eastern Iowa. Keokuk County was one of the 
centers of disloyal sentiment, and the "Copper- 
heads", under the leadership of a young min- 
ister by the name of George C. Tally, had been 
very outspoken in their criticism of the govern- 
ment. They had even declared their intention, 
it is claimed, of "cleaning out" South English, 
wiiere their conduct had become particularly 
distasteful. 

On the first day of August a Republican meet- 
ing was held in South English and, because of 
the threats which had been made, many of the 
citizens of the town and surrounding country 
attended the meeting armed with such weapons 
as they possessed. In the afternoon Tally and 
a number of his followers were seen approach- 
ing the town in wagons. Great excitement 
immediately prevailed. He was warned not to 



FIRE IN THE REAR 271 

enter the village, but he insisted that he only 
wished to pass through the town and that no 
harm was intended. As the wagons reached the 
center of the town there were cries of ''coward" 
and "copperhead" and then accidentally a gun 
was discharged. Weapons were immediately 
brought from their hiding-places under straw 
in the bottom of the wagons and a general 
fusillade of shots was discharged on both sides. 
Standing erect in his conveyance, with a pistol 
in one hand and a long bowie-knife in the other, 
Tally was among the first to fire; and he was 
likewise the principal target for his opponents. 
Twice he fired and then fell dead with a bullet 
through his brain and two through his body. 
Two or three other men were wounded, and the 
only wonder was that the list of casualties was 
not much larger. 

The followers of Tally withdrew from the 
town, swearing vengeance for the death of their 
leader. The news spread rapidly. Soon south- 
ern sympathizers from Keokuk, Wapello, 
Mahaska, and Poweshiek counties began to 
gather at a rendezvous near the western border 
of the county. The whole countryside was 
filled with apprehension, and feverish prepara- 
tions were made for defense. Three citizens of 
South English wrote urgent letters to Governor 
Kirkwood begging for aid in protecting their 
town, and disclaiming any aggression on the 
part of the loyal people of the place. ^^^ 



272 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

'*I, of course, cannot determine where the 
fault is or who are the parties responsible, but 
it is very clear this is a matter to be determined 
by the court, and not by a mob", wrote Kirk- 
wood in response to these appeals. He informed 
them that he had sent the sheriff of Washington 
County forty stands of arms and ammunition 
to be used in quelling the disturbance. "They 
must not be used for any other purpose, or in 
any other manner", he continued, well knowing 
the consequences which might follow rash 
action. "You must keep your people strictly 
on the defensive, and clearly within the law. 
You must not resist the execution of legal 
process, but must aid in enforcing and executing 
it. If you are attacked by a mob of riotous and 
lawless men, you will of course defend your- 
selves. ""^ 

But the seriousness of the situation became 
more and more apparent as additional informa- 
tion was received. "A large body of men, 
armed with rifles and shot-guns," wrote J. H. 
Sanders, "have formed, and are camped in the 
western part of the county, threatening to take 
the law into their own hands, and murder, 
plunder, burn and destroy, unless their un- 
reasonable demands are complied with. Ac- 
cording to their own statements, this force, thus 
assembled in violation of law, amounts to over 
three thousand men, and from my own knowl- 



FIRE IN THE REAR 273 

edge of the matter I think there must be at 
least one thousand men in the county unlawfully 
under arms. Our citizens are in very great 
fear for the safety of person and property, and 
the county funds, valuable public records, and 
the greater portion of the funds of private indi- 
viduals, have been removed from the county for 
safe keeping. "■^^^ 

On Tuesday two citizens of Sigourney made 
a hurried trip to Iowa City to consult with the 
Governor and impress upon him the necessity 
of furnishing aid. By this time, however, 
Kirkwood had become fully convinced of the 
need for prompt and vigorous action. With 
characteristic directness he proceeded to adopt 
measures to crush the incipient rebellion and 
restore order. He went immediately to Daven- 
port to confer with Adjutant-General Baker 
and other authorities. From there he issued 
orders to eleven home guard companies to pro- 
ceed to the scene of disturbance. At the same ^ 
time he telegraphed to Secretary Stanton for 
permission to detain six companies of the 
Seventh Cavalry in southeastern Iowa until the 
danger was past, declaring that the prompt 
suppression of this uprising would discourage 
future outbreaks of the same kind. 

Governor Kirkwood then went in person to 
Sigourney and shortly after his arrival made a 
speech from the court house steps. No detailed 

19 



274 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

report of that speech has been preserved, but it 
is safe to assume that it was marked by force- 
fulness and strong expressions of determina- 
tion, rather than by elegance of form or 
soothing words. ''I will make an example of 
those engaged in these disturbances, which will 
forever deter others from engaging in like 
proceedings", he said in closing. "I say ivhat 
1 77iean and I mean what I say."'^'^* During the 
night the home guard companies from Musca- 
tine, Fairfield, Washington, Mt. Pleasant, and 
other towns began to pour into the troubled 
region, and by morning the "Copperhead" 
camp was almost deserted. Thus ended "The 
Skunk River War", and the Governor returned 
to Iowa City. 

"I have often thought of the speck of rebel- 
lion on 'the Skunk' and the part we all took in 
it", was the letter Kirkwood received nearly 
two years later from N. P. Chipman, who at the 
time of the disturbance w^as a member of the 
staff of General Curtis. "There are many 
incidents & events in the history of Iowa to be 
told hereafter by the Biographer & historian of 
less importance than that little campaign. For 
your promptness & vigor in quenching that 
spark the people of Iowa should be thankful. 
There was a good deal more danger in that 
rebel camp of a thousand men than was gener- 
ally thought. "^^^ 



FIRE IN THE REAR 275 

Not only did disloyalty express itself in vio- 
lence and threatened resistance to the draft, but 
it also took the form of abuse of the Governor. 
This was not mere partisan criticism or honest 
disagreement on questions of policy. It was a 
deliberate attempt to discredit and weaken the 
influence of the executive, such as harassed 
Lincoln throughout the war. 

''Sam. Kirkwood is perambulating the State 
denouncing Democrats as being disloyal and 
non-law-abiding", wrote one of the most rabid 
anti-administration editors. ''And this same 
corrupt, political mountebank, in a public 
speech made by him in Iowa City in 1860, called 
his God to witness that, 'sooner than have the 
Fugitive Slave Law enforced in Iowa, he would 
suffer his right arm to fall from its socket. ' . . 
. . Great God, to what lengths can brazen 
faced impertinence and impudence go! Sam. 
Kirkwood with this utterance vivid in his mem- 
ory, charging Democrats with being disloyal! 
Satan rebuking sin ! — There is no spot in the 
lowest hell deep enough and hot enough to fur- 
nish just retribution to just such men as Sam. 
Kirkwood and his coadjutors North and South 
in the devilish work of disrupting the 
Union, "^i*^ 

On the same day the same editor charged 
Kirkwood with selling hay to the quartermaster 
of the Sixth Iowa Cavalry at twelve dollars a 



276 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

ton, when a person whose name was not 
divulged had offered to furnish it at five dollars 
a ton. ''At the time this characteristic speci- 
men of thimble-rigging took place," declared 
the editor, "the market value of hay in Iowa 
City was $6.00 per ton. Of course, Kirkwood 
didn't know the price of hay. No, no ! He sup- 
posed it was worth $12.00 a ton — of course he 
did. Nobody who knows Kirkwood would sup- 
pose for a moment that he intended to swindle 
the government. Like Caesar's wife should 
have been, he is above suspicion — especially 
where he is not known. Honest Samivel!"'*^^ 

But hatred of the man who was so firm in his 
determination to hold Iowa true to the Union 
found expression in plans for measures of a 
more desperate nature than mere criticism and 
abuse. ''I am in possession of a fact that you 
should know", wrote J. M. Hiatt to the Gov- 
ernor early in April, 1863. "In the Secret 
dens of Treason in this State your assassina- 
tion is canvassed as something to be approved. 
Although it is talked of cautiously and ambigu- 
ously, there is an evident desire to stimulate 
some reckless desperado to the attempt. "^^^^ 

"I trust your information on this point is 
either erroneous or exaggerated", was Kirk- 
wood's reply to this warning, which he had also 
received from other sources. "At any rate I 
must take my chances and certainly shall not 



FIRE IN THE REAR 277 

neglect any of my duties for fear of any 
danger. "^^^ 

Three months later Kirkwood received an- 
other warning that a plan to take his life within 
six weeks had been perfected."*-" That he was 
in serious danger in August at the time of the 
disturbances in Keokuk County can scarcely be 
doubted. As he was speaking to the crowd at 
Sigourney a gray-haired man was heard to 
mutter in a cool, deliberate manner, " I '11 shoot 

the d d old scoundrel." After the speech 

Kirkwood went to the hotel and as was his 
wont, seemed to have cast aside the worries and 
responsibilities of his official position, and 
engaged in a lively conversation about farm 
life and problems with the men who gathered 
about him. During the course of this conversa- 
tion a friend, from his seat just outside the 
door, saw the gray-haired man approach the 
hotel, carefully examine the situation, and then 
go away. Later he returned, accompanied by 
four other men. They marched directly to the 
door of the hotel, where they halted and gazed 
intently into the room without speaking a 
word. But as soon as they approached. Kirk- 
wood's friend sprang from his seat and stood 
in the door-way with his body between the sus- 
picious looking squad and the Governor. After 
standing motionless for a few moments, the 
men turned and passed down the street. 



278 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

''There was no explanation given by the 
party at the time, and no especial comment 
made by anyone", said the man who thus 
shielded Kirkwood from possible danger. "The 
circumstances had nearly passed from my 
mind, when, several months afterwards, I was 
informed that those men had come prepared, 
and it was their intention to have shot the Gov- 
ernor, and if it had not been for my interference 

they would have carried their intentions into 
effect."^2i 



XXIV 

Politics and Prospects 

The spring of 1863 brought State politics again 
to the fore in Iowa. At the general election of 
that year it would be necessary to choose a suc- 
cessor to Samuel J. Kirkwood as Grovernor, and 
it was a matter of great importance that a 
strong and loyal man should be selected. For 
Kirkwood it was a time when important deci- 
sions affecting his own future were forced upon 
him. 

During the second w^eek in March the news- 
papers contained news of the appointment and 
confirmation of Governor Kirkwood as Minister 
to Denmark. ^'It takes me by surprise", wrote 
the Governor to a friend. ''Our delegation in 
Congress wrote me in December they thought 
they could secure the appointment for Iowa and 
asked me if I would accept it. After consider- 
ing the question I declined on the ground I did 
not think it right for me to leave Iowa at 
present. I heard nothing more of it until on 
yesterday the news of nomination & confirma- 
tion came in the papers. It may not be correct. 
If it be correct what should I do? "^2- 

279 



280 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

"The President, by and with the advice and 
consent of the Senate, having appointed you to 
be Minister Resident of the United States to 
Denmark," was the letter Kirkwood received 
more than a week later from Secretary Seward, 
"I have the honor to announce the same to you 
and to request that you will inform this Depart- 
ment how soon, in the event of your accepting 
the appointment, you will be prepared to pro- 
ceed to Copenhagen. "^^^ 

Thus was Governor Kirkwood compelled to 
consider a question which he had supposed was 
settled. Letters began to come in from all sides. 
"I congratulate you upon your Confirmation as 
resident minister to Denmark", wrote William 
B. Allison, then serving his first term in the 
lower house of Congress. "I regret very much 
that you are called to leave the State at so 
critical period in its history. Your State Ad- 
ministration has been successful, and impartial. 
You have won the esteem & affection of the 
people. I fear very much that we shall find 
difficulty in choosing a successor. "^-^ 

"I don't quite understand it, this certainly 
would be a bad time for you to give over the 
affairs of the State to any successor", wrote 
Marcellus M. Crocker from camp in the far 
South. "All there is of the military you have 
made and understand better than anybody else. 
And I know I speak the sentiment of almost all 



POLITICS AND PROSPECTS 281 

Iowa soldiers when I say that they w^ould 
regard your acceptance of any position that 
would take you away from the state as a great 
misfortune. ... I have heard it said by 
officers here that it was a scheme of Iowa poli- 
ticians to get you out of the way. I do not 
believe that. If it is you of course know it, and 
are rather too old to be disposed of in any 
manner not agreeable to yourself. "^-^ 

''You can scarcely imagine how much grati- 
fied I am at your statement that you & many of 
our soldiers would prefer my remaining at 
home", was Kirkwood's reply to Crocker. "If 
I supposed that feeling to be general it would 
decide the matter with me." At the same time 
he said "I am well satisfied my appointment 
was not made to get me 'out of the way'."'*^'^ 

The offer was one which had many attrac- 
tions for Kirkwood, as is revealed by his cor- 
respondence with the Secretary of State. ^-' 
But the letters which he received from friends 
only tended to strengthen his sense of duty to 
the people of Iowa. And so about the middle of 
April he finally wrote to Secretary Seward that 
he would accept if he could first serve out his 
term as Governor, Otherwise he must decline, 
and he gave his reasons. ^-^ "You intimate, 
however, that it is possible these reasons may 
have less weight with you some few months 
hence," was Seward's reply, "and that you 



282 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

may then perhaps feel at liberty to accept the 
appointment and proceed to Copenhagen before 
the close of your gubernatorial term. Under 
the circumstances, I see no objection to your 
holding the appointment under consideration 
for a few months at least. "^-•* Thus the ques- 
tion remained open until January, 1864, when 
Kirkwood definitely declined the appoint- 
ment.^''^<^ 

The suspicion, suggested in Crocker's letter, 
that the appointment to the Denmark mission 
was a scheme to eliminate Kirkwood from the 
political arena in Iowa, was without foundation. 
Nevertheless, it soon made it necessary for the 
Governor to decide another question concern- 
ing his own activities after laying down the 
duties of chief executive. The General Assem- 
bly which would meet in January, 1864, would 
be called upon to choose a successor to James 
W. Grimes as United States Senator, and it 
wa!s necessary that the candidates for that 
position should be known before members of 
the legislature were elected in the fall of 1863. 

"We are told that His Excellency has finally 
determined not to go to Denmark", satirized a 
radical Democratic editor at Iowa City in April, 
1863. "We doubt not his Royal Highness of 
Denmark will feel relieved when the tidings 
reach him. Once upon the time rottenness in 
Denmark bred trouble. For fear it would do so 



POLITICS AND PROSPECTS 283 

again, Samuel, you do well in staying at home. ' ' 
In the same paper it was asserted that the 
"fight between Kirkwood and Grimes, for the 
Senatorship, waxes hot and hotter. Grimes 
tried to shelve the Governor, by shipping him 
to Denmark. But it won't work — Samuel 
smells a mice and declines the proffered honor. 
Cruel Samuel — cunning Grimes. "'^^^ 

There is ample evidence in the correspond- 
ence between Kirkwood and Grimes that this 
insinuation was absolutely false. ■*^- Under the 
circumstances the Governor made no move that 
could in any way be interpreted as seeking the 
position in opposition to Grimes. "As to the 
Senatorship I am not taking a great amount of 
trouble", he wrote to a friend in April. "My 
own candid judgment is that if the Gen. Assem- 
bly will look only to the public interest they will 
reelect Grimes. His experience, and the posi- 
tion & influence he has in the Senate are worth 
a great deal to the country & our state & it 
would be some time before either Mr. Kasson or 
myself could fill his place. These considera- 
tions ought to control but w^hether they will or 
not is by no means certain."'*"^ 

At the same time the holding of a seat in the 
Senate was in itself a prospect by no means 
distasteful to Samuel J. Kirkwood. "I would 
like a seat in the U. S. Senate and under ordi- 
nary circumstances w^ould use all honorable 



284 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

means to secure it", he wrote to William Duane 
Wilson in July. He believed the reelection of 
Grimes, however, to be the best thing for the 
State and Nation, and therefore asked that no 
efforts be made in his behalf. "I am also frank 
to say", he continued, "that it has cost me 
some regrets to reach this conclusion, for I am 
pretty sure my own strength for the position 
will never again be as great as it now is."^''^ 
In the same tone he wrote to William G. 
Thompson a month later. ''I certainly would 
like a seat in the U. S. Senate but not well 
enough to thrust myself in at a time like this 
before one who I think can do better service 
than I can. I expect Warren will fight Grimes 
to the bitter end, but for God's sake don't let 
your former hostility to Grimes lead you now 
to support Warren. "^•''^ 

The sincerity of these statements is attested 
by the unbroken friendship between the Senator 
and the Governor. "I accept your kind con- 
gratulations at my re-election", wrote Grimes 
in January, 1864. "For your aid, so efficient & 
so disinterested in my behalf, receive my 
thanks. "^-"^^ 

As far as the governorship was concerned 
there was never any serious thought that Kirk- 
w^ood would again be a candidate. The anti- 
third-term bogey stood in the way, even if he 
had desired a renomination. "I cannot agree 



POLITICS AND PROSPECTS 285 

to run again for Governor", he wrote to 
Crocker early in April. "My running might 
jeopardize the loyal ticket and really the labor 
of the office is too onerous. "^^^ 

Soldiers were the most popular men for party 
candidates at this time and for several years 
afterward. Thus the Republicans in State con- 
vention at Des Moines on June 17th chose 
William M. Stone as their candidate for Gov- 
ernor. At the same time they tendered ''to 
Hon. Samuel J. Kirkwood the cordial thanks of 
the loyal people of Iowa for the able, fearless 
and patriotic discharge of his duties, during the 
two terms he has held the office of Governor of 
the State. "^^^ The Democrats selected as their 
standard bearer James M. Tuttle, also a soldier 
who had made a splendid record for himself. 

Because he was not a candidate for any office 
and because of his peculiar ability as a speaker 
Governor Kirkwood was in a position to render 
very effective service in the campaign during 
the summer and early fall of 1863. The de- 
mands were many and he responded as often as 
he could spare time from his official duties. "I 
propose to spend some two weeks at one trip in 
the campaign this fall, besides some flying visits 
to particular points", he wrote to Thomas F. 
Withrow in July. "It would suit me very well 
to put in my two weeks in the North Eastern 
part of the State. I was never there but once 



286 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

as a kind of tender to Grimes in 1857 when 
Lowe was running. In 1859 my wife's sickness 
prevented me from filling my appointments in 
that region ".'^^'^ The desire expressed in this 
letter was gratified. Late in August he set out 
for northeastern Iowa and he did not return to 
Iowa City until September 21st. At Dubuque, 
where disloyal sentiments had been many times 
expressed, he had an opportunity to make an 
unmistakable statement of his intentions in case 
any resistance or violence should appear in that 
region. ''You remember", he is reported to 
have said, ''that the draft commenced in New 
York the other day and a mob was raised to 
stop it, and threats have been made that the 
same thing would be done here in Iowa — would 
be done here in Dubuque. And I wanted to talk 
here in Dubuque just long enough to tell you 
that it will be a very bad thing to start a mob 
here in opposition to the draft. It is for your 
own interest that no mob is started here. I tell 
you I will see to it that any mob that is started 
shall be put down for you! You see that I am 
not only a plain-looking man, but a plain- 
speaking man; and I intend to speak plainly." 
"What did the soldiers from Keokuk County 
think", he asked after speaking of the proud 
name the Iowa troops had given to the State, 
"when they learned that their homes had been 
in jeopardy, and that their mothers, and wives. 



POLITICS AND PROSPECTS 287 

and daughters, and sisters were made to tremble 
for their lives, unprotected because they had 
given up those who once cared for them to the 
service of their country? Such a burning shame 
shall not disgrace our State and grieve the 
hearts of our noble soldiers again without pun- 
ishment, dire, swift and sure, reaching the 
traitor that engages in it. The homes and fami- 
lies and property of those who have gone to 
fight their country's battles must be protected; 
and may my God forget me in my hour of 
sorest need if I do not see to it that they are 
protected." In conclusion he told them how the 
uprising in Keokuk County had been quelled. 
''It commenced on Saturday. I received word 
of the position of affairs on Tuesday, and by 
Wednesday night I had five companies and one 
piece of artillery on the ground, and by Thurs- 
day night five more companies and another 
piece of artillery; and there was not a blank 
cartridge there. And I tell you if it becomes 
necessary for me to come here to Dubuque on 
the same errand, I shall not bring a blank 
cartridge here." 

''I cannot permit a day to elapse", wrote 
William Duane Wilson, "without telling you 
the intense satisfaction I had in reading your 
100 pounder speech at Dubuque. Its telling 
effect upon the Copperheads in the State will be 
equal to a standing army of 5000 men, well 
armed. "^•^'^ 



288 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

At other places where disloyal sentiment was 
not so pronounced, the Governor spoke in the 
manner which had made him so popular in 
previous campaigns. Driving home his points 
by the use of homely illustrations from the 
daily life of the people, with an occasional 
humorous anecdote, he stirred the patriotism of 
his hearers and appealed to them to forget all 
differences in the one common object of putting 
down the Confederacy.^^^ The response in most 
cases was warm and whole-hearted, and Kirk- 
wood returned to Iowa City well satisfied with 
the progress of the campaign.'*^- "Tuttle will 
I think be badly beaten", he wrote to a friend. 
"I am very sorry he has taken the course he 
has. He is too good a man to be sacrificed by 
such a damned hard lot of scurvy poli- 
ticians".^'*^ 

The Governor's prediction was amply ful- 
filled. At the election in October the Demo- 
cratic candidate was defeated by about thirty 
thousand votes and "William M. Stone was 
elected Governor of Iowa. "Please accept my 
thanks for your able and efficient efforts in 
behalf of our ticket during the recent canvass", 
the successful candidate wrote to Kirkwood a 
few days later. "I am convinced that your 
presence in the field, and your labors contrib- 
uted very much toward our splendid success in 
the State, and I trust I shall not prove insen- 



POLITICS AND PROSPECTS 289 

sible to the obligations of gratitude under which 
your uniform kindness has placed me."^^"* 

Early in December the Governor went to Des 
Moines in order to show his successor ''the 
hang of the house "^^^ and to prepare his last 
biennial message to the legislature. During the 
preceding two years he had of necessity left the 
administration of civil affairs largely to sub- 
ordinates and other State oflEicers. But he had 
kept in touch with the work, and on January 12, 
1864, he was able to present to the General 
Assembly an excellent survey of the conditions 
and needs of the State. In a lengthy message 
he detailed the situation in the various State 
departments and institutions, recommended 
measures to make their work more effective, 
discussed military affairs during the preceding 
two years, and presented his views on national 
policy. In closing he gave high praise to the 
Iowa troops for their loyalty and bravery on the 
field of battle. "It may perhaps be permitted 
me to say", were his last words, "that I trust 
that when the history of the gallantry and devo- 
tion of these men shall be written, the position 
I have held will of necessity connect my name 
humbly, and not discreditably, with theirs, and 
that this trust affords compensation for some- 
what of toil and care which have attended that 
position, and should be sufficient to satisfy an 
ambition greater than mine. "^^*^ 

20 



290 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

On January 14th William M. Stone was 
inaugurated as Governor of Iowa, and not long 
afterward Mr. and Mrs. Kirkwood returned to 
Iowa City. "No former Governor of Iowa has 
had a tithe of the labor and responsibility of 
office of Gov, Kirkwood, ' ' was the comment of a 
friendly editor, "and no one has left the office 
so much entitled to the plaudit of 'well done 
good and faithful servant.' .... He now 
rests from his labors, and will enjoy the sweets 
of home for a season. It is not to be supposed, 
the State will consent to let him remain perma- 
nently in private life. We notice some papers 
speak of him as a candidate for the U. S. Senate, 
before the present Legislature. We feel author- 
ized to say, such is not the fact. He will claim 
the quiet of private life for a longer term, but, 
when sufficiently recovered from the toils of his 
long and arduous labors, we doubt not the State 
will call, in a voice he will not feel at liberty to 
disregard. Until then, may be enjoy that rest 
he so richly earned. "^^' 

Even more prophetic was a letter written by 
Eliphalet Price. "No Governor of Iowa," he 
wrote, "while acting as such, extended the area 
of his personal acquaintance so widely over the 
State as yourself. Men and women everywhere, 
will, as time rolls on, enlarge the story of their 
acquaintance with you, with many manifesta- 
tions of pride, and the child of to-day will be 



POLITICS AND PROSPECTS 291 

pointed out by the next generation, as the Gray- 
liaired man who in childhood had talked with 
Gov. Kirkwood. The History of the Rebellion 
cannot pass you by, upon its pages you will live 
through those future centuries that shall pre- 
serve the existence of man. "^^* 



XXV 

The Life of a War Governor 

When Samuel J. Kirkwood was inaugurated 
as Governor of Iowa in January, 1860, lie did 
not assume a position of aloofness from his 
fellow-beings. To be sure, his activities during 
the succeeding four years were largely pre- 
scribed by law and by the extraordinary de- 
mands made by the war. But the elevation to 
the office of chief executive did not place him in 
a charmed circle where he was free from the 
hopes and disappointments, the pleasures and 
sorrows, and the physical weariness to which 
other men were subject. One of the secrets of 
his success was his gladness on every possible 
occasion to cast aside the worries and responsi- 
bilities of his official station, and talk on familiar 
terms wdth soldiers, farmers, or business men 
about the common affairs of every day life 
which concerned them most. He was keenly 
interested in people. 

Between 1861 and 1864 his thoughts and 
duties centered about the war, and his loyalty to 
the Union cause and the administration never 
wavered. At the same time he was not immune 

292 



LIFE OF WAR GOVERNOR 293 

to discouragement and despair when his posi- 
tion gave him exceptional opportunities to 
observe the blunders and inefficiency in the con- 
duct of the war. "I feel like you 'invigorated' 
& like 'thanking Grod with all my heart,' but I 
have felt at times a little like 'swearing' too 
while absent", he wrote to a friend after 
returning from Fort Donelson in March, 1862. 
"In God's name what infernal fascination is 
there about this demon of slavery that causes 
men high in authority to sacrifice the lives of 
our noble & brave boys for its preservation? 
That is just what they are doing. "^^^ 

His feeling toward General McClellan and his 
resentment because of the lack of credit and 
attention given to the western armies were 
unhesitatingly expressed to President Lincoln 
at the time of the Altoona Conference in Sep- 
tember, 1862. A few weeks later, to Kirkwood's 
delight, McClellan was removed and his position 
given to General Burnside. "After the elec- 
tions in the northern states I felt discouraged", 
Kirkwood w^rote to a friend on November 14th, 
"but since the President has put a man in Gen. 
McClellan 's place who will seek to fight I am 
again encouraged. All we need is to have fight- 
ing Generals — men who will allow our people 
to strike and we are safe." "Things did look 
gloomy, but all things work for the best", he 
wrote to William B. Allison. "If the elections 



294 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

liad gone differently McClellan would still com- 
mand — all would be quiet on the Potomac 
until another year & then our doom as a nation 
was sealed. "^^'- 

Tlie use of negro troops was another subject 
on which Kirkwood felt deeply. The govern- 
ment was very reluctant to adopt such a policy, 
partly for fear of its effect in the border States. 
But Governor Kirkwood took a different view. 
''I have but one remark to add", he said in 
closing a letter to Gfeneral Halleck in August, 
1862, ''and that in regard to negroes fighting — 
it is this — When this war is over & we have 
summed up the entire loss of life it has imposed 
on the country I shall not have any regrets if it 
is found that a part of the dead are niggers and 
that all are not white men."'*^^ Later he de- 
clared that if the negroes were ''willing to pay 
for their freedom by fighting for those who 
make them free I am entirely willing they 
should do so. ... I really cannot under- 
stand or appreciate the policy that insists that 
all the lives lost and all the constitutions broken 
down to preserve the country shall be those of 
white men when black men are to be found w^ill- 
ing to do the work and take the risks. "^'^ 

Difference of opinion with regard to policies, 
however, did not weaken Kirkwood 's firm sup- 
port of Lincoln and his administration. Nor 
was his view of the main issue of the war 



LIFE OF WAR GOVERNOR 295 

obscured by the assertions often made, espe- 
cially after the issuance of the emancipation 
proclamations, that the war was a struggle to 
free the slaves. "I supported the administra- 
tion in conducting the war, before it struck at 
slavery," he wrote in March, 1863, "I support 
it now when it strikes at slavery and I shall 
continue to support it if it ceases to strike at 
slavery."'*"''^ 

Kirkwood's views were nowhere more clearly 
expressed than in a long letter to a brother, 
whose attitude toward the war was, to say the 
least, one of discouragement. "It might just as 
truly be said", he wrote, "that this war is 
waged by our Government to capture Richmond, 
or Charleston, or Savannah or Mobile or Vicks- 
burg, or to open the Mississippi river or to 
enforce the blockade of the rebel coast as to say 
it is waged to free the negroes. The govern- 
ment is trying to do all these things and yet it 
is not true that either of them is the object of 
the war. They are each and all of them used as 
means to the great end, the suppression of the 
rebellion and the restoration of the Union. . . 
. . You say we have fought two years and 
have not yet succeeded — true but our fathers 
fought seven years to give us what we are seek- 
ing to preserve, and although there were faint 
hearts in those days who when the clouds looked 
dark & gloomv cried out as faint hearts do now 



296 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

'no use' 'no use', they persevered and tri- 
umphed. Are we their legitimate sons or are we 
bastards?" 

"You say Gen. McClellan was removed", he 
continued. "True and he should have been 
removed before he was. With his mode of war- 
fare even seven years would not bring us to the 
end of the war. The rebellion is not stronger 
today than it was twelve months ago . . . 
and if our people will be true to themselves, and 
their posterity, to their Government and their 
God we will finally put down this accursed 
rebellion and restore peace and prosperity to 
our land. If this is not done, then ruin awaits 
us — a large standing army to guard our fron- 
tier south, continued wars, and a further break- 
ing up among the States, until we reach the 
condition of Mexico. "^•^'^ 

While Governor and Mrs. Kirkwood had no 
children of their own, they did not escape the 
personal sorrow and bereavement which the 
war brought to thousands of homes in Iowa and 
throughout the land. Two nephews were in the 
army, and between the Governor and these two 
boys there passed many letters. In the spring 
of 1862 one of these nephews, William W. 
Kirkwood, was taken sick in camp at Fort 
Donelson, and was given a furlough. Upon 
reaching his uncle's home in Iowa City he be- 
came worse and for weeks hovered between life 



LIFE OF WAR GOVERNOR 297 

and death. "Four days ago I did not expect 
him to live twenty- four hours", wrote Kirk- 
wood to Grimes in May. ''But he still lives & 
is slightly better. He may possibly recover. I 
can't leave him at present or I would go to 
Washington. "^^^ The young man finally recov- 
ered and returned to his regiment. 

The other nephew, Samuel Kirkwood Clark, 
was the adopted son of Mr. and Mrs. Kirkwood. 
He was taken by them at the death of his mother 
when he was five years old, and he grew up in 
their home beloved by them as though he had 
been their own child. Though only a lad of 
eighteen years he enlisted in the cavalry early 
in the war. On the following New Year's Day 
his uncle sent him a commission as second 
lieutenant. ''Be a 'good boy' and do your duty 
manfully," he wrote, "and you will always be 
sure of the affection of your uncle". Later 
young Clark was promoted to the position of 
adjutant in the Twenty-fifth Iowa Infantry, 
under Colonel George A. Stone. In the battle of 
Arkansas Post in January, 1863, he was 
severely wounded and about a month later he 
died in a hospital at St. Louis, where his uncle 
and aunt spent much time at his bedside during 
his illness. "^^^ 

The grief of the Governor was not unmingled 
with a solemn pride in the record made by his 
nephew. "You speak of the many brave men 



298 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

wlio have lost their lives in this war", he wrote 
to his brother who was inclined to question the 
justification of the sacrifice. "No man regrets 
this loss more than I do. I have myself lost my 
adopted son who died of a wound received at 
Arkansas Post. He was as noble, as true 
hearted, as brave a boy as has lost his life in 
this struggle. I loved him dearly and his loss 
has been a sore trial to me for it leaves me in 
my old age without any one to lean upon, but 
while I mourn his loss as one that cannot be 
repaired, if I had another or a dozen such I 
would not withhold one of them from the strug- 
gle. Men's lives are given them to be useful to 
their fellow men and in my judgment in no way 
can lives be more profitably used than in pre- 
serving what cost our fathers so dearly to 
transmit to us. "■^^^ 

Very little time for the quiet enjoyment of 
homelife was given to Kirkwood during the 
years of the war. Long hours were spent in the 
office when he was in Iowa City, and much of the 
time he was away from home. Long trips to 
Washington and the East, visits to the soldiers 
in the field, and journeys to various points in 
the State consumed much time and were a 
severe tax on his strength. Several months 
each year were spent in Des Moines w^hile the 
legislature was in session; and on most of these 
occasions Mrs. Kirkwood accompanied the Gov- 



LIFE OF WAR GOVERNOR 299 

ernor.^"^^ Des Moines by this time was a much 
better town than when Kirkwood first saw it; 
but the journey thence from Iowa City was still 
not only long and tiresome but beset with 
dangers. By January, 1863, travelers might go 
by rail as far as Grinnell, but for the remainder 
of the trip they were at the mercies of the stage- 
coach. On his way to the capital that winter 
the Governor was twice thrown out on the 
ground when the stage upset. Fortunately he 
escaped with no more serious injury than some 
flesh bruises.'*''^ 

The mere clerical work which Governor Kirk- 
wood was obliged to perform was by no means 
light. He had a military secretary and a private 
secretary to whom he dictated letters, with 
instructions "to make sense where there was 
none", and who attended to a large mass of 
correspondence without his personal direction. 
Nevertheless, he wrote thousands of letters with 
his own hand, many of them letters of four, six, 
or even eight large and closely written pages.'*'''"^' 
"You think you have cause to complain that 
your former letters were answered by my secre- 
tary & not by me", he told a friend. "Let me 
explain. All letters marked 'private' or 'confi- 
dential' are opened only by me but it is not in 
my power to answer all of them in person. I 
could not do half the writing necessary if I took 
all mv time to it. I endorse on the backs of the 



300 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

letters a short memorandum of what the answer 
is to be & have one of my clerks write it out."^^^ 
The severe strain was too much for even his 
sturdy constitution, and in the summer of 1863, 
after returning from the camps around Vicks- 
burg he was taken sick and confined to his bed 
for two weeks.'*^^ Worry, lack of sleep, the 
exacting and wearying nature of his duties, and 
exposure while on many hard journeys — all 
had their effect. And so when his successor 
had been chosen he wrote to his good friend, 
Jed Lake: ''I will soon be out of office thank 
God. I am the tiredst man in lowa."^^^ 



XXVI 

A Short Term as Senator 

Early in February, 1864, Mr. and Mrs. Kirk- 
wood returned to Iowa City to resume once 
more the less strenuous ways of private citizens. 
Before many months had passed they moved 
from Coralville to a new and comfortable home, 
built on a small tract of land adjoining Iowa 
City on the southeast. It was a home much 
more to their liking than was the house in 
Coralville, and here for the first time since 
moving to Iowa they were able to enjoy the 
quiet home life which they had known in Ohio.^^^ 
The building of the house and attention to 
long-neglected business affairs occupied most of 
Kirkwood's time during the year 1864. The 
active direction of the mill or farm no longer 
appealed to him, and so after an interruption of 
about ten years he returned to the practice of 
law. Early in 1865, he entered into partnership 
with his brother-in-law, J. E. Jewett. The new 
firm announced its readiness to practice in the 
courts of the State or of the United States; 
while special attention would be given to col- 
lections. ^^^ 

301 



302 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

Meanwhile, freedom from the burdens of 
office did not mean entire withdrawal from 
public service. Mrs. Kirkwood was chosen a 
member of the executive committee of the 
Freedmen's Aid Society formed in Iowa City in 
March, 1863; and later she was appointed to 
solicit contributions for the purpose of carry- 
ing on the work of the organization.*"*^ It was 
also natural that the ex-Governor should be 
much in demand as a speaker. In February, as 
president of the State Historical Society, he 
made a speech in acceptance of the flag of the 
Twenty-second Iowa Infantry. On May 18th an 
Iowa City newspaper announced that "Govs. 
Stone and Kirkwood will address the people of 
Johnson County, from the steps of the Univer- 
sity, this evening at the tap of the Drum, with 
reference to the hundred days call. ' ' On a Sun- 
day early in September he was scheduled to 
speak at the Bethel church in North Bend in 
behalf of the Soldiers' Orphans' Home.**^^ 

During the political campaign of 1864 Kirk- 
wood also responded to many calls for help on 
the stump. The most urgent of these calls came 
from William B. Allison, who was a candidate 
for reelection to Congress. On the back of 
Allison's letter asking for assistance Kirkwood 
wrote a brief note and sent it on to Hiram Price 
of Davenport. "I must go up & help Allison so 
you must get on without me", he said.**^^ Later 



SHORT TERM AS SENATOR 303 

he made several campaign speeches in and 
around Iowa City. On April 19, 1865, at Iowa 
City he delivered an eloquent "funeral oration" 
in memory of Abraham Lincoln. ^*^^ During this 
time there was some quiet talk about the sena- 
torial contest which would occur when the 
legislature convened in January, 1866, and 
Kirkwood received assurance of support if he 
should decide to be a candidate. ^"^^ But the 
election was a long way off, and so during the 
fall and winter he apparently gave little thought 
to the question. 

There was, however, a sudden awakening of 
interest in the senatorship, early in the spring 
of 1865. On March 9th James Harlan was 
appointed Secretary of the Interior by Presi- 
dent Lincoln. Thus a successor to Harlan must 
be chosen, not only for the full term beginning 
in March, 1867, but also for the unexpired 
portion of the term ending at that time.^'^ 
Hardly had the news of Harlan's appointment 
reached Iowa when Jacob Rich wrote to Kirk- 
wood telling of the efforts he had been making 
to create sentiment in favor of his appointment 
bj^ Governor Stone to fill the vacancy.^'- 

The prospect of the senatorship was just as 
attractive to Samuel J. Kirkwood at this time 
as it had been in 1863, when he had refused to 
be a candidate against Grimes. Now there was 
no reason why he should not seek the position. 



304 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

*'My name is being used by some of my friends 
in connection with the vacant U. S. Senatorship, 
with my consent," he wrote to Azro B. F. 
Hildreth on March 27th, "and I am naturally 
anxious that their efforts should be successful. 
. . . My object in writing you is to learn 
the position you will occupy, if you have as yet 
determined what it shall be. You know me 
pretty thoroughly ; you know my past political 
action ; and it would be, I think, useless even if 
it were proper for me to enter upon an argu- 
ment upon the subject. . . . It is but frank 
and fair to say that I should feel deeply grati- 
fied to receive your support, because I know 
your influence is powerful, but more because of 
the gratification I should feel at knowing you 
thought me worthy of the high position named. 
But I say with equal frankness that if your 
sense of public duty compels you, or induces 
you, to prefer another to myself, that fact shall 
make no change in my regard for you."'*^^ 

Interest now centered in the question of 
whether or not Governor Stone would make an 
appointment. ''I will say here to you", he 
wrote to Kirkwood late in March, ' ' what I have 
not said to any one else, & which you will con- 
sider as strictly confidential, and that is, should 
the vacancy occur and I should conclude to fill 
it in advance of the Legislature, I have never 
doubted in my own mind that you would be the 



SHORT TERM AS SENATOR 305 

man. . . . There is no necessity for your 
friends stirring up a fight with me, and if they 
are satisfied to leave 'well enough alone', there 
will be no trouble. "^'^^ 

As the weeks went by it became evident that 
Governor Stone did not intend to make an 
appointment until after the Republican State 
Convention, at which time he would be a candi- 
date for renomination. He admitted as much 
in a letter to Kirkwood early in June. He had 
decided to make an appointment, but not until 
he was "out of the woods" himself. ''I do not 
think it advisable for you to be at the State 
convention," he wrote, ''as it would help to 
give color to the assumption that there is a 
bargain and sale betw^een us, and sway the 
friends of other gentlemen against me. Yet 
this matter may be quietly and well understood 
by your friends without your presence. . . . 
There will be no necessity for your friends to 
say anything about the appointment at the con- 
vention, and their reticence on the subject will 
tend to keep others quiet and avoid undue 
agitation of the question." "You will be Sen- 
ator and I Governor again", he added, "if our 
friends understand each other, and are prudent 
and discreet in their management. There must 
be no conflict between them, and there is no 
occasion for any. . . . Mark all your let- 
ters to me ' private '."^"^ 

21 



306 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

About this same time Governor Stone gave 
Marcellus M. Crocker to understand that he 
would appoint Kirkwood after the State con- 
vention was over. But within two weeks 
Crocker became doubtful, for Stone had later 
intimated to him that he might not make the 
appointment until after the election. "I do not 
know but that if he waits until after the elec- 
tion", he wrote, "he may conclude to be a 
candidate himself and go back to his old policy 
of not appointing at all. "^"^ This prediction 
proved true, at least so far as the failure to 
make anj^ appointment was concerned. What- 
ever Stone's attitude toward Kirkwood may 
have been during the summer of 1865, it was 
anything but friendly when the legislature met 
in the following January. "Knowing that you 
feel some .interest in the coming contest for 
IT. S. S. before the Legislature", he wrote to 
William Penn Clarke of Iowa City, "I can but 
ask if you will be at Fort Des Moines during 
the early part of the Session. There will be 
several outside numbers from this place; all 
interested to defeat S. J. and I would be glad to 
know that you would heartily cooperate. "^^" 

Meanwhile Kirkwood and his friends were 
not basing all their hopes on securing an 
appointment by the Governor. The contest 
before the legislature would, after all, be the 
main problem. Mr. Kirkwood received many 



SHORT TERM AS SENATOR 307 

promises of hearty support from old friends. 
There was a movement in the northern part of 
the State in favor of William B. Allison, on the 
ground that that portion of the State had been 
neglected, but Allison refused to be consid- 
ered. ^"^^ Kirkwood had proposed that the short 
term be conceded to Allison. ''We did not urge 
your claims because you were a cleverer, more 
social, more companionable fellow than Allison, 
for we don't think you are", wrote Jacob Rich 
in reply to this proposition. "Nor because we 
liked you personally any better than the Col- 
onel, for we don 't. . . . But the ground we 
took, the only ground that we could take, the 
ground that it was our pride and our strength 
to take, was that your selection was best for the 
public interests, for the State and the 
Nation. "^^^ 

' ' You need not write to me on the Senatorship 
unless you want to," wrote Adjutant General 
Baker, "for I am for you 'to the death'. I 
should go for you at any rate against any man. ' ' 
From Washington, D. C, came a letter from 
L. D. Ingersoll saying that "I suspect I shall 
have to go to work to help send you here. But 
you must promise not to wear that old gray 
wammus." Another admirer, who was a mem- 
ber of the legislature, wrote that "I have been 
so much in the hahit of voting for you that I 
don't see how I could break the habit so early 
as the year of grace 1866.""*^^ 



308 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

Many were the letters of advice and warning 
which Kirkwood received from Senator Grimes. 
"Do not fail to have a large outside delegation 
of your friends at Des Moines at the commence- 
ment of the session to remain until the elec- 
tion," he wrote early in October, ''and let as 
many of them he military men as possible. 
Don't fail in this.""*^^ Later, when it became 
evident that James Harlan, finding the Cabinet 
position unpleasant, was anxious to be returned 
to the position from which he had so lately 
resigned, Grimes was among the most out- 
spoken in his disapproval. ''I have no hostility 
to Harlan — I advised him not to leave the 
Senate," he told Kirkwood, "but when he did 
leave it & voluntarily pledged himself to you & 
thus induced you to become a candidate for his 
succession I think fair play entitles you to the 
place. "■^^^ 

As the time for the convening of the General 
Assembly approached the optimism of Kirk- 
wood's friends gradually turned to uncertainty. 
Besides Kirkwood and Harlan, there were many 
other aspirants for the position: John A. 
Kasson, S. R. Curtis, William M. Stone, Fitz 
Henry Warren, Asahel W. Hubbard, and others 
each had a small group of earnest, active sup- 
porters. C. C. Nourse wrote late in October 
that Mrs. Kirkwood "must come over [to Des 
Moines] next winter & bring all the 'Parisian 



SHORT TERM AS SENATOR 309 

style' she can put on for it isn't fair to have 
you fight crinoline." "^^^ This was a reference to 
the activities of Mrs. Kasson in support of her 
husband's candidacy. 

But anxiety in the Kirkwood camp was occa- 
sioned chiefly by the efforts which were being- 
made to secure the reelection of James Harlan. 
*' About one half of Mount Pleasant is in the 
Interior Department & all at work rallying the 
methodists to the support of Harlan", wrote 
Grimes early in December. ''You can't labor 
too hard between this & the election." A week 
later Jacob Rich wrote from Washington. "I 
cannot be so cheerful and confident of your suc- 
cess as I was when I came here", he said, "I 
have heard so much about what Harlan is doing, 
the ropes he is pulling, the patronage he is 
wielding, and the power he is using, to accom- 
plish his election, that I feel a good deal down 
in the mouth." "You must 'get up and dust', 
or you will be laid out ' ', was the warning which 
came from J. N. Dewey about the same time. 
"Harlan is certainly playing a very strong 
hand."-'^^ 

This was the situation when the legislature 
met in January, 1866. The lobby of the Savery 
Hotel was crowded, not only with legislators, 
but also with numerous outsiders "forming 
that indispensable part of any well regulated 
legislative body, 'The Third House '."^^^ r^^^ 



310 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

senatorial contest was the chief topic of interest 
during the opening days of the session. The 
contest had narrowed down until it was recog- 
nized that no one but Kirkwood and Harlan had 
any chance of winning. Charges were flung 
back and forth, secret conferences were held, 
and each side anxiously awaited the outcome. 

The Republican caucus was held some time 
during the first week of the session. On the first 
ballot for a nominee for the long term James 
Harlan received fifty votes, Samuel J. Kirk- 
wood forty-four, and several other candidates 
received small votes. The contest was close 
and the result was still uncertain. The second 
ballot gave Harlan fifty-seven and Kirkwood 
forty-six, but even then no candidate had a 
majority of the votes in the caucus. On the 
third ballot, however, Harlan received sixty- 
three votes and became the party nominee. 
Next came the choice of a candidate for the 
short term. On the first ballot Kirkwood 
received eighty votes, w^hile the highest number 
received by any of his competitors was 
sixteen. "^^"^ 

The Republicans w^ere overwhelmingly in 
control of the General Assembly, and conse- 
quently the caucus nomination meant certain 
election. On January 13th the two houses met 
in joint convention and by large majorities 
elected Samuel J. Kirkwood and James Harlan 



SHORT TERM AS SENATOR 311 

to represent the State in the United States 
Senate, the former until March 4, 1867, and the 
latter for six years after that date.'*^'^ 

Senator Kirkwood very soon set out for 
Washington, and upon his arrival there took 
lodgings at the Kirkwood House which stood at 
the corner of Twelfth Street and Pennsylvania 
Avenue.^*^ On January 20th his credentials 
were received and filed in the Senate. Four 
days later he was presented by his colleague, 
James W. Grimes, administered the oath of 
office, and assigned a seat. Later he was given 
a place on the committees on pensions and 
public lands. ^^^ 

Coming into the Senate as a new man when 
the session was well under way, it was natural 
that the junior Senator from Iowa should take 
a relatively small part in the proceedings. 
While he was by no means a silent member, he 
seldom participated in debate, and when he did 
speak it was usually very briefly. On one 
occasion he objected to counting negroes in 
determining the basis of representation in Con- 
gress unless they were allowed to vote. A 
Maryland Senator called attention to the fact 
that women were included in the enumeration 
and yet they were not allowed to vote. "We 
should feel some objection," was Kirkwood 's 
reply, "if we felt in regard to negroes as the 
Senator does, to having our women balanced off 



312 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

all the time by negroes in Maryland. "^^" He 
also opposed a bill to restrict homesteads on 
the public lands in the South to eighty acres, on 
the ground that it would discourage immigra- 
tion and would retard development in that 
section. ''Although I may not agree with some 
Senators in regard to some matters concerning 
these seceded States," he said, "I certainly do 
not desire to do them any injustice; I do not 
desire to take any action that will injure their 
material interests ".^''^ 

A bill amending the Pacific Railroad law and 
a proposal to subsidize the building of a 
Niagara ship canal were other matters which 
received considerable attention from Senator 
Kirkwood.'*^- Especially was he opposed to 
placing an internal revenue tax on reapers, 
mowers, threshing-machines, and other farm 
machinery. "The Senator from Maine, I am 
satisfied, cannot understand the condition of 
our people with regard to these matters", he 
declared. "It is substantially the same as tax- 
ing men in our State. There is not one acre out 
of a hundred of our wheat that is cut in any 
other way than with a reaper. There is not one 
acre out of a hundred [of our hay] that is cut 
in any other way than with a mower. We have 
not the men in our State to collect our crops 
without these machines. If you would give us 
your superabundant population to do the work. 



SHORT TERM AS SENATOR 313 

we should be content; but these machines are 
used by us instead of men. "•^^-'^ 

It would not be possible from any of Kirk- 
wood's remarks in the Senate during this 
session to determine his attitude toward recon- 
struction. He may not have been sure in his 
own mind, and certainly the many letters which 
he received from citizens of Iowa did not offer 
him any assistance in determining the wishes of 
his constituents. On the one hand there were 
many letters like that written by Henry Dunlavy 
from near Bloomfield. ''You know that rad- 
icalism has failed in every Government on 
earth", he wrote. "The south is in the Union 
as states, and the party that attempts to make 
the southern states dependent Territories will 
all go under as certain as the old Federal, Whig, 
K. N. and the late Democratic party have. . . . 
Prepare yourself and astonish the natives in 
favor of the President's restoration policy, lay 
aside party for the sake of your country. Walk 
right into Sumner & Co. You can beat any of 
them in debate. ' ' On the other hand, there were 
many who took the opposite view. "I fear that 
Mr. Johnson is clearly against us as Repub- 
licans, and yielding to the old slave power", 
wrote an Iowa City minister. "This I deeply 
regret. I therefore hope by all fair means the 
Senate and House will both stand firm."^*^^ 

Congress did not adjourn until the last week 



314 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

in July. Scarcely had Senator Kirkwood 
reached his home in Iowa City when he received 
from the chairman of the Republican State 
Central Committee a list of speaking appoint- 
ments, beginning at Newton on September 10th 
and ending at Iowa City on October 6th. The 
Senator was informed that he could go by rail 
to Newton, and from there by stage to Des 
Moines, where a team would be waiting to take 
him into the southwestern part of the State. 
After filling engagements in that region he 
would be brought by way of Indianola to Des 
Moines on September 26th. From there he 
would go by railway to Oskaloosa, where a team 
would take him to Sigourney and Washington, 
after which he could return to Iowa City by 
train.^^^ 

This strenuous trip was almost too much for 
Mr, Kirkwood, and he had barely recovered his 
strength when it was necessary to return to 
Washington for the short session of the Thirty- 
ninth Congress. Mrs. Kirkwood now accom- 
panied her husband and they took quarters on 
Sixth Street.^"'^ 

The subjects during this three-month session 
of Congress which elicited the greatest amount 
of discussion from Senator Kirkwood were the 
admission of Nebraska into the Union, the 
improvement of the navigation of the Missis- 
sippi River, and the tariff. While he was sorry 



SHORT TERM AS SENATOR 315 

that tlie people of Nebraska had drawn up a 
Constitution containing the word "white" he 
was not willing that their desire for statehood 
should be thw^arted on that account. '^^'^ The 
removal of obstructions to the navigation in the 
Mississippi, and especially the building of a 
canal around the Des Moines rapids, was a 
project of great importance to the people of 
Iowa, and he labored diligently to secure the 
necessary appropriation.'*^^ He favored a low 
tariff on such commodities as lumber, the 
supply of which in the United States was 
rapidly becoming exhausted; and a high tariff 
on coal, wheat, and such other commodities as 
could be raised or produced for an indefinite 
period in this country in sufficient quantities to 
meet the needs of home consumption."*^^ 

The debate on the admission of Nebraska 
brought Kirkwood into conflict with Charles 
Sumner, who had referred to the Nebraska 
Constitution as being odious because it con- 
tained the word "white". Now it happened 
that the same objectionable word still remained 
in the Constitution of Iowa, and Senator Kirk- 
Avood felt that the Massachusetts Senator was 
also casting reflections on that instrument. 
Therefore he told Sumner that he "should 
remember that there are other States in this 
Union besides Massachusetts; and when he 
speaks of particulars wherein those States do 



316 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

not agree with Massachusetts he should be 
careful of the terms he applies to them." 

''May I ask the Senator if he considers that 
provision in the constitution of Iowa right or 
wrong?", inquired Sumner. 

"I conceive it to be the business of the people 
of Iowa and not the business of the Senator 
from Massachusetts", was the reply. "The 
people of Iowa will deal with it in their own 
way when they see fit; and as a loyal people 
they have the right to do so ; and so I apprehend 
have the people of Nebraska. "■^'^*^ 

This passage of words created no little stir 
in Iowa. ''I wrote you substantially that I 
thought you would fail in the Senate because I 
did not think you could make yourself damned 
fool enough to please the long haired fools both 
male and female who control the Republican 
party", was the comment of Reuben Noble. 
''One year has proved the truth of my predic- 
tions. You ventured to say 'None of your busi- 
ness' to the Representative man of the long 
haired gentry, and the Miss Nancys of the femi- 
nine gender, and forthwith the pack are let 
loose upon you. You are dead politically for 
the present." 

"I ask the privilege of congratulating you 
upon & of thanking you for, your decisive & 
successful course on the Nebraska question — 
as also for your plucky tilt with His Serene 



SHORT TERM AS SENATOR 317 

Theorist Sumner", wrote George C. Tichenor. 
'' Notwithstanding the promptitude, indeed in- 
decent haste with which certain Journals have 
so severely criticised your action in the prem- 
ises, you will find when the time comes, that the 
men of iwiver in the state will be ready in a 
practical manner to evince their endorsement of 

yQ^ JJ501 

The Thirty-ninth Congress adjourned on 
March 3, 1867, and soon afterward Samuel J. 
Kirkwood returned to Iowa City, where he was 
to remain in private life for a period of eight 
years. 



XXVII 

Lawyer and Railroad President 

The record of Samuel J. Kirkwood's activities 
during the next three years is very meager. 
Apparently he did not return at once to the 
practice of the law, nor did he engage in any 
enterprise which brought him into public atten- 
tion. During the political campaigns of 1867 
and 1868 he made a number of speeches in and 
around Iowa City."^^- In March, 1868, he took a 
prominent part in the organization of a " Grant 
Club" at Iowa City, thereby indicating his 
hearty support of the hero of Vicksburg as a 
candidate for the presidency.-^*^^ About this 
same time "the voters of Iowa City township, 
*just for the fun of the thing,' or as a sort of 
practical joke on the ex-governor, elected him 
to the office of road supervisor. But he took it 
in good part, went promptly and qualified, and 
served his term out faithfully and well. "^*^^ 

Meanwhile the "War Governor" was not for- 
gotten by his friends. "When are you coming 
to Des M.f ", wrote Governor Samuel Merrill in 
December, 1868. "Our old latch string 'hangs 
out' & you & wife are invited — We live in great 

318 



RAILROAD PRESIDENT 319 

style & you will please put on your Sunday 
clothes. "^^^ One year later Merrill appointed 
Kirkwood as one of the Iowa delegates to a 
convention to be held at St. Louis on October 
20, 1869, for the purpose of considering the 
expediency of removing the national capital to 
some point in the Mississippi Valley.^"*^ 

But there was one painful episode during this 
period which threatened to disturb a close and 
long-standing friendship. In May, 1868, James 
W. Grimes was one of the seven Republicans 
who in the United States Senate showed their 
statesmanship by voting against the impeach- 
ment of Andrew Johnson. Immediately there 
was an exhibition of the fickleness of public 
favor. Senator Grimes was assailed as a 
traitor to his party and to the country. Many 
of those who had been among his greatest ad- 
mirers now turned against him and disowned 
him in language expressive of the deepest con- 
tempt. Everywhere among Republicans there 
was intense indignation; and the members of 
the party in Iowa City were no less outspoken 
than those in other sections of the State. 

''Mr. Grimes has received the resolutions of 
your Grant Club, condemning his course, and 
demanding that he should resign his position as 
Senator", wrote Jacob Rich to Kirkwood from 
Washington on May 24th. ' ' He has also noticed 
that you were present and made a speech at that 



320 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

meeting, and also the statement that the reso- 
lutions were unanimously adopted. I don't 
think that anything that has been said and done 
has hurt him much more than the idea that you, 
who ought to know how conscientious and 
honest he is in his public duties, should join in 
the popular howl which you know it is so easy 
to raise, and from which you yourself have 
suffered to some extent. I tell him I will not 
believe that you have done so. . . . He 
never was clearer in his duty in any vote he has 
ever given, and reflection has but fortified him 
in the belief that the country will yet thank him 
for the vote. "^^'^ 

Unfortunately there is no record of the 
speech made by Mr. Kirkwood before the Grant 
Club in Iowa City, nor is there any way of 
determining the exact nature of his personal 
feelings toward Senator Grimes. It is evident, 
however, that the report which so wounded 
Grimes was greatly exaggerated if not entirely 
erroneous. ''I was much pleased to hear from 
you," wrote Jacob Rich on June 3rd, ''and 
pleased, also, to find that I was not mistaken as 
to the course which I supposed you had taken 
in the matter in question. I felt sure that you 
would not, for an instant, fortify unreasonable 
passion and prejudice, and would be no party to 
the aspersions upon the character and integrity 
of men whom you know so well as Fessenden, 



RAILROAD PRESIDENT 321 

Trumbull and Mr. Grimes, however much you 
might differ with them in the conclusions to 
which they have come. "^^^ 

As late as May, 1869, according to the mutual 
admirer of the two men, the apparent desertion 
on the part of Kirkwood remained ' ' one of the 
sorest things connected with the matter" to 
Senator Grimes. Three months later Mr. Rich 
had an opportunity for a personal conversation 
with the Senator in Paris, France, where he 
was spending some time in the hope of regain- 
ing his lost health. ''I spoke to him of your 
feeling of regret that anything should have 
come up to estrange you ' ', wrote Eich. * ' I told 
him the circumstances of that meeting as you 
told them to me, and I hope they made him 
better satisfied than formerly as to your entire 
friendliness to him at that time. I am satisfied, 
indeed, that the statement had that effect. "^^^ 
In February, 1872, Senator Grimes died at his 
home in Burlington. There is no record of a 
definite reconciliation between the two men. 

Under these circumstances Mr. Kirkwood 
must have found much satisfaction in a letter 
which he received several years later from Mrs. 
Grimes, in reply to his acknowledgment of a 
copy of a memorial volume containing tributes 
to Senator Grimes. "I did not know of the loss 
of friendship on the part of Mr. Grimes, of 
which you speak", she wrote. ''I do not re- 

22 



322 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

member ever to have heard him speak of you 
in any way to give me the impression of any 
loss of regard for you, while I do remember the 
respect and friendship which had made your 
name a familiar & honored one to me. It is as 
the friend of Mr. Grimes that I would remember 
you & that I wished you to accept the book that 
I have sent you, — and your letter convinces me 
that it was proper. "•^^*^ 

In January, 1870, Mr. N. H. Brainerd, now 
the editor of an Iowa City newspaper, an- 
nounced that Samuel J. Kirkwood had opened 
a law office on Washington Street in the room 
in the rear of the Iowa City National Bank. 
*'We can heartily recommend him to those who 
dare to trust one of his youth and inexperi- 
ence", was the facetious comment of the erst- 
while military secretary. ' ' His lack of years is 
becoming less every day and, for one of his age, 
we consider him very promising. We hope he 
will be given business enough to encourage him 
in his efforts to gain a position in life."''^^ 

At about this same time Mr. Kirkwood em- 
barked in another enterprise which occupied a 
considerable portion of his attention during the 
next four or five years. Early in December, 
1869, he was appointed as a delegate from 
Johnson County to a railroad convention to be 
held at Muscatine on the fifteenth day of that 
month.^^- Three months later, in April, 1870, 



RAILROAD PRESIDENT 323 

it was announced that a company had been 
formed to construct a railroad from some point 
in Clinton or Cedar County through Iowa City 
and Sigourney to some point on the Missouri 
River, At the head of the list of the five direc- 
tors organizing this company was Samuel J. 
Kirkwood. A meeting of all persons interested 
in the proposed road was to be held at Iowa 
City on May 3rd, at which time additional 
directors would be chosen and the plan more 
fully explained.^ ^^ 

The meeting was held according to appoint- 
ment and was attended by enthusiastic delegates 
from various communities. Mr. Kirkwood pre- 
sided and later at a meeting of the directors he 
was elected president of the company, which 
was known as the Iowa & Southwestern Rail- 
road Company.^ ^^ The summer was spent in 
making plans and stimulating public interest. 
The project met with great favor. When Kirk- 
wood went over the route of the proposed road 
in December, 1870, he was given a hearty re- 
ception. ''He was passed from place to place, 
and feasted on the fat of the land. As he came 
to a town horsemen were sent in every direction 
to call out the people, and with a few hours 
notice a large assembly would listen to his 
remarks in the evening, the papers were drawn 
up, and they went right to work obtaining 
names to their petition for submitting the ques- 



324 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

tion of a tax to a vote of the people. "^^^ In 
many townships taxes were voted for the pur- 
pose of aiding a project from which so many 
benefits were expected. 

Early in 1871 an arrangement was made with 
the Iowa Southwestern Construction Company 
for the construction of the road. The incorpor- 
ators of this company were F. E. Hinckley of 
Chicago, president, Charles H. Toll, James B. 
Edmonds, J. B. Grinnell, and M. T. Close, and 
the issuance of $500,000 worth of capital stock 
was authorized.^ ^^^ In May it was announced 
that the cars were to be running from Chicago, 
through Clinton, to Iowa City at the latest by 
July 1, 1872, and possibly by January 1st; while 
they would reach Oskaloosa by December 31st. 
''We will soon see the dirt flying", was the 
confident prediction. In October the statement 
was made that work was in progress all along 
the line and that ground was being broken in 
Scott County. Later Kirkwood received assur- 
ances that the road would be ready for opera- 
tion at the time agreed upon.-"'^" 

But there were many delays. The coming of 
winter halted the work. Mr. Hinckley was 
interested in other railroad projects which 
claimed much of his attention. In fact the his- 
tory of the project during the next three years 
was one of alternating hope and despair. The 
name of the road was changed several times, 



RAILROAD PRESIDENT 325 

and there were periods when the prospects 
seemed good for the completion of the road. 
Mr. Kirkwood and other men also became inter- 
ested in a coal mine in Monroe County. Then 
new difficulties arose. Funds could not be 
easily secured. Other railroads entered a por- 
tion of the territory through which this line was 
projected. Finally the road was leased to the 
Burlington, Cedar Rapids, and Northern Rail- 
road Company. Ten years later, after many 
vicissitudes, trains were put into operation be- 
tween Clinton and Elmira, where connection 
was made with a short line to Iowa City.^^* 

While this ill-fated venture was engrossing 
much of his attention and causing him no end 
of worry, Samuel J. Kirkwood did not remain 
entirely aloof from political affairs. In the 
spring of 1871, laying aside the resentment 
wdiich he no doubt still felt toward James 
Harlan, he wrote the Senator a letter in praise 
of his stand in support of President Grant 
against the attacks of Schurz and Sumner. 
"Your generous letter of the 5th inst. has been 
received, for which allow me to express my 
heartfelt thanks", was Senator Harlan's reply. 
"The attack on the President was so completely 
inexcusable, as to make it difficult to listen to it 
with patience. I tried to do what seemed to be 
a plain duty in the premises, — and I will not 
disguise the fact that your commendation gives 
me great personal pleasure. "^^^ 



326 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

In June of the same year Kirkwood's name 
was suggested as a possible candidate for the 
Republican nomination for Governor; but the 
movement apparently did not pass beyond the 
stage of suggestion. He was a candidate for 
State Senator that fall, however, and was de- 
feated by his Democratic opponent, Samuel H. 
Fairall.^2*' 

Then came the bitter Harlan-Allison contest 
for the senatorship, beginning in earnest in the 
fall of 1871 and culminating in the election of 
William B. Allison by the legislature in 1872. 
Mr. Kirkwood was strongly urged by such men 
as Grenville M. Dodge and Jacob Rich to use 
his influence in favor of Allison; while he was 
asked by Allison himself to take charge of that 
candidate's forces in the contest. On the other 
hand, George G. Wright advised Kirkwood to 
keep out of the fight entirely, since he was the 
only man in the State who could defeat Harlan 
in case it appeared that Allison would not be 
successful.^-^ What part Kirkwood played in 
this spectacular campaign can not be gauged, 
but it is certain that his warm friendship for 
William B. Allison enlisted his sympathies, if 
not his active labors, in support of the Dubuque 
candidate. 

Three years now passed during which Kirk- 
wood's name seldom appeared in connection 
with public affairs, except that in 1874 he be- 



RAILROAD PRESIDENT 327 

came a member and chairman of the Board of 
Trustees of the Iowa State Agricultural Col- 
lege at Ames. But he was not forgotten by 
influential friends. About the first of January, 
1875, he received several telegrams asking him 
if he would accept an appointment as Minister 
to Turkey, which position the members of the 
Iowa delegation in Congress were confident 
they could secure for him. "Salary $7,500", 
wrote William B. Allison a few days later. 
*'The duties must be very light from the fact 
that we have very little business with Turkey. 
. . . If we should be beaten in 76 the term 
would not be long & you would have a most 
interesting and delightful voyage. ... I 
hope you will see your way clear to accept 
it. "'^2- Mr. Kirkwood's reply to this offer has 
not been preserved, but it is very evident that 
he declined with less hesitation than wdien he 
rejected the mission to Denmark ten years 
before. Other prospects no doubt had much 
weight in determining his choice. 



XXVIII 

Governor Against His Will 

The prospects wliicli made Samuel J. Kirkwood 
so little inclined to accept the mission to Turkey 
in January, 1875, were political in character. 
It would be the duty of the General Assembly of 
Iowa in 1876 to elect a United States Senator to 
take the place then occupied by George G. 
Wright, who had let it be known that he would 
not be a candidate for a second term. Now if 
there was any public office which, during his 
entire career, Mr. Kirkwood really desired to 
hold it was the senatorship. The brief taste of 
service in the Senate in 1866 and 1867 had not 
satisfied that desire. In 1870 he was not a 
candidate and in 1872 his friendship for Allison 
prevented him from entering the race, even had 
he wished to do so. But now, after eight years 
of private life, there was no reason why his 
aspirations should not rest on the senatorship. 
During the early months of the year 1875, 
however, there came intimations of a movement 
which was quite contrary to his wishes. From 
various quarters there came suggestions that 
the old War Governor should head the Repub- 

328 



THIRD TERM AS GOVERNOR 329 

lican State ticket in the campaign that fall. 
''Are you willing to be a candidate for Gov- 
ernor!", asked A. J. Felt of Waterloo late in 
March. "I am confident that more Republicans 
in Iowa are for 'old Sam Kirkwood,' than for 
any other man. ... I know that your name 
for Governor, and your presence on the stump, 
would call out all the Old Guard ; it would rally 
to the front again every Boy in Blue; would 
revive the old spirit of enthusiasm; call home 
the wanderers, heal the disaffections and place 
the Republican column once more in solid 
phalanx and place Iowa where she belongs at 
the head of the vanguard of States that march 
with the flag and keep step to the music of the 
Union. ' ''^-^ Newspapers also began to give sup- 
port to the movement. 

Here was a quandary, but Kirkwood was not 
without advisers. Jacob Rich, for instance, 
urged him to be a candidate for Governor and 
not announce his senatorial aspirations until 
later. A strong candidate for Governor was 
necessary in order to carry the legislative ticket 
for the Republican party. "Even if it means 
retirement," asked Rich, "would it not mean 
such a going out as would make you the most 
honored man in the State? .... The party 
needs you for Governor, and I believe your con- 
sent to take it, must bring you honor and satis- 
faction." At the same time he did not believe 



330 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

that an election as Governor would mean the 
end of Kirkwood's chance for the senatorship.^^"* 

On the other hand, such men as John H. Gear 
and J. N. Dewey advised him not to be a guber- 
natorial candidate if he wished to be Senator. 
"Select the position you propose to go for and 
go for it", said the latter. "Possibly between 
two stools you might catch a fall — wdiich we 
don't want. "°^^ 

Whether or not this possibility worried Kirk- 
wood, he did not wish the nomination for Gov- 
ernor; and in May he authorized the editor of 
the loiva City Republican to announce that he 
would positively refuse to accept it, even if 
tendered to him."^^^' He was a man of sixty-two 
years, whose hair was growing gray and whose 
physical strength was beyond its zenith. He did 
not feel equal to the strain of a vigorous cam- 
paign such as would be required of a candidate 
for the governorship. 

As a matter of fact, as the time for the State 
convention approached it seemed less and less 
likely that Kirkwood w^ould be obliged either to 
accept or reject a nomination for Governor. It 
had become almost a foregone conclusion that 
James B. Weaver of Bloomfield would be the 
party nominee. He had a record for distin- 
guished service during the Civil War, and he 
was a man of great and recognized ability. His 
nomination w^as confidently expected on the 



THIRD TERM AS GOVERNOR 331 

basis of the claim that a majority of the dele- 
gates to the convention were instructed to vote 
for him. His extreme views in favor of prohi- 
bition afforded the chief ground of opposition 
to his nomination. Weaver's principal com- 
petitor was John Russell, formerly State Audi- 
tor, who received support from those opposed to 
making prohibition a party issue. Three other 
men, namely, John H. Gear, Robert Smythe, 
and W. B, Fairfield, each had a small follow- 

Then came the Republican State convention 
at Des Moines on June 30th.'-^ "The gathering- 
was pronounced the largest and most enthusi- 
astic ever assembled in Iowa since the organiza- 
tion of the Republican party. Every available 
seat in Moore's Opera House was filled, and 
hundreds were unable to gain admittance." 
During the morning a temporary organization 
was effected and committees were appointed. 
The election of permanent officers and a speech 
by the chairman were the first events in the 
afternoon. Then nominations for Governor 
were declared to be in order. One by one, 
James B. Weaver, John Russell, John H. Gear, 
Robert Smythe, and W. B. Fairfield were 
placed in nomination. 

Balloting was about to begin when in the 
midst of the Audubon County delegation there 
arose Dr. S. M. Ballard, a large man with flow- 



332 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

ing white hair. In tones that penetrated to 
every corner of the hall he nominated Samuel J. 
Kirkwood. Immediately there were enthusi- 
astic cheers and a great flutter of excitement. 
Delegations fell to discussing the unexpected 
nomination. ''The Dubuque delegation was 
seated on the stage, and was plainly the most 
excited and apparently the most surprised of 
all the delegations. It had a hurried consulta- 
tion, and then one of its members, General 
Trumbull, .... left the delegation and 
walked clear down to the front of the stage, and 
leaning over the foot-lights and pointing his 
hand at the Audubon delegation, which sat in 
the parquette not far from the stage," de- 
manded to know by what authority the name of 
Mr. Kirkwood was presented. Again Dr. 
Ballard arose and "in a voice of peculiar power 
and magnetism" answered back: "By the 
authority of the great Republican party of the 
State of Iowa." Vociferous applause, lasting 
for several minutes, greeted this reply. 

When quiet had been partially restored 
"Honest John Russell" arose and "with the 
Scotch accent peculiar to the man", declared 
that he would not be a candidate against the 
old War Governor. He was followed by John 
H. Gear who, in a speech "delivered with fire 
and dash, having an electrifying effect on the 
Convention," likewise withdrew his name. "I 



THIRD TERM AS GOVERNOR 333 

would regard now and at all times the interests 
of my party first", he said. "I most cordially 
second the motion to nominate the old War 
Governor, who sent seventy-five thousand of 
our Iowa boys in blue cheering to the front to 
help so potentially in subduing the rebellion". 
This speech was followed by ' ' such tumultuous 
cheers as were never heard before in any polit- 
ical gathering in the State." 

After the applause had ceased some delegate 
had the temerity to inquire whether it was not 
true that Kirkwood's friends in the convention 
had received a telegram from him earlier in the 
day positively declining to accept a nomination. 
In response there came cries of ''Don't care if 
they have" and ''Don't make any difference". 
Dr. Ballard then proposed that Kirkwood be 
nominated by acclamation, but there was much 
opposition to this suggestion, and so an in- 
formal ballot was taken. The result was that 
Kirkwood received two hundred and sixty-eight 
votes, Weaver two hundred, Smythe one hun- 
dred and eleven, and Fairfield thirty-three. 
Three hundred and seven were necessary to a 
choice. A formal ballot was therefore taken. 
But before it could be counted, various counties 
began to change their vote to the support of 
Kirkwood, ' ' whereupon Capt. Hull, of Davis — 
Gen. Weaver's county — very gracefully moved 
to make the nomination of Gov. Kirkwood 
unanimous." 



334 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

The motion was enthusiastically adopted; 
and Rev. I. P. Teter, a member of the conven- 
tion, moved that the secretary telegraph to 
Kirkwood asking if he would accept. This 
motion was met with a storm of protests. 
''Hon. John Y. Stone arose amid the tumult to 
say, 'Gov. Kirkwood must accept.' This was 
the signal for such wild applause that Mr. 
Teter withdrew his motion, saying he would 
substitute therefor a second to the positive 
declaration of Senator Stone." 

While the convention was still in an uproar 
because of the unexpected "stampede" many 
messages were passing over the wires from Des 
Moines to Iowa City. "Kirkwood nominated 
for governor first ballot amid most tumultuous 
applause I ever witnessed", telegraphed James 
S. Clarkson to George G. Wright, who was then 
living in Iowa City. "Under no circumstances 
must he decline." To Kirkwood himself came 
a telegram signed by John H. Gear, William 
Larrabee, Ed. Wright, R. S. Finkbine, J. G. 
Foote, and J. Q. Tufts: "All candidates with- 
drawn in your favor you are nominated by 
acclamation you must accept it will come out all 
right," "It could not be helped", was the mes- 
sage written by Nathaniel B. Baker. "It was 
the only road out. And now, I think it does not 
hurt you on U. S. Senator." R. S. Finkbine 
was even more certain on this point, for he 



THIRD TERM AS GOVERNOR 335 

assured Kirkwood that the election as Governor 
would give' him "a hold on the party for the 
Senatorship, which neither Hell — nor Harlan 
could defeat. "^-'"^ 

The candidate was slow in replying to the 
urgent messages of his friends. "Why in 
thunder don 't you accept answer ? ' ' was the im- 
patient telegram from Ed. Wright which 
reached Iowa City at 4:40 in the afternoon. 
Finally, Mr. Kirkwood sent.a reluctant reply: 
''If I must, say yes for me. "^^*^ 

Thus was Samuel J. Kirkwood forced into a 
campaign against his will. It was one of those 
instances in which the best laid plans go amiss. 
The nomination of James B. Weaver had been 
practically certain. But he was opposed by the 
friends of other candidates, as well as by the 
anti-prohibition forces and the corporations. 
When Kirkwood 's name was presented all these 
elements found common ground in his support. 
Added to this situation were the great popu- 
larity of the old War Governor and the psycho- 
logical effect of the dramatic manner in which 
his name was placed before the convention.^^^ 

Having once accepted the nomination the 
Republican candidate for Governor entered 
into the race in earnest against his Democratic 
competitor, Shepherd Leffler. The campaign on 
the part of the Republicans opened formally on 
September 1st. But on August 19th Mr. Kirk- 



336 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

wood made a speech in ttie opera house at Des 
Moines which sounded the key-note of his cam- 
paign. After being introduced by Governor 
Carpenter, he was ' ' warmly, loudly, and repeat- 
edly cheered." First he denied the charges 
made in the Democratic press that he had spec- 
ulated in tax titles, that he was a large owner of 
railroad stock, that he owned stock in a dis- 
tillery, that he had spoken in slighting terms of 
the German citizens of the State, and that he 
had speculated in army clothing during the 
Civil War. 

Then he took up three inquiries which he had 
received, concerning his attitude toward woman 
suffrage, secret societies, and the temperance 
question. "As to woman suffrage he said he 
honestly hoped to see the day when in going to 
the polls we shall take our wives, daughters, and 
sisters with us, and he believed that many of us 
would live to see such a day." In response to 
the second inquiry he stated that he was a 
Mason and an Odd Fellow. ' ' Many of the mem- 
bers of each of these Orders will fight me as 
bitterly as any others in Iowa," he continued, 
"and I do not suppose there are many who will 
think of making this question an issue in the 
canvass or at the polls. I will not argue the 
question here. Any man who wishes to vote 
against me on that score, or who honestly thinks 
he ought to, can do so without any objections on 
my part." 



THIRD TERM AS GOVERNOR 337 

The temperance question, then a prominent 
issue in Iowa, was discussed more in detail. 
The speaker declared that he was as much op- 
posed to the intemperate use of intoxicating 
liquors as anyone could be. But he felt that 
there was ground for honest difference of 
opinion as to the best method of regulating the 
liquor traffic. In part of the counties of the 
State the prohibitory law w^as w^ell enforced, 
while in others it was openly violated. ''I know 
it is much more difficult to do a thing than to 
say it can be done," he declared, ''but I think 
if I had the power to do so I could make a law 
that would fully protect the counties where the 
present law is enforced and at the same time 
better the condition of the counties where the 
present law is not enforced." This statement 
was not to be taken in any way as a pledge. 
"You may say on one side or on the other or on 
both sides of this question that you are unwill- 
ing to trust one without a pledge", he said. 
''Very w^ell — that is your privilege, and you, 
not I, must be answerable for its exercise." 

"Some of my friends who are editing Demo- 
cratic papers," he continued, "are afraid that 
if I get to be Governor I may want to be a Sen- 
ator. They and some others are very anxious 
that we should have a good looking man to send 
as our Governor to the Centennial Exposition 
at Philadelphia next year. . . . Now I 

23 



338 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

couldn't go to the Senate or leave the Governor- 
ship, if I wanted to, before March, of 1877 — 
the year after the Centennial, so that the people 
of Iowa would still have the benefit of all the 
beauty that I have at the Centennial, [Re- 
peated laughter.] .... But about my want- 
ing or not wanting to go to the Senate I shall 
make no promises. If I did it might be as it was 
with the Governorship. I said I did not want 
and would not take that; but I am the Repub- 
lican party's candidate for it — and I do not 
intend any more to say what office I will take 
and what I w^ill not. ' ' 

With this lengthy introduction, the candidate 
proceeded with the formal part of his speech, in 
which he discussed the attitude of the Repub- 
lican party on the great issues of the day. Just 
at the close he returned once more to the tem- 
perance question, and advised the prohibition- 
ists to remain in the Republican party. ''You 
are no doubt as honest as you are earnest, and 
I for one believe that you are", he declared. 
"It is right, too, to be progressive, radical, and 
advanced. But have a care that you do not get 
so far ahead of public opinion that you will get 
out of sight of the great body of the people alto- 
gether, and be lost. (Applause.) So far, 
indeed, that you cannot even be heard. (Ap- 
plause.) "^^- 

Durino' the next six weeks Kirkwood toured 



THIRD TERM AS GOVERNOR 339 

the State on a vigorous campaign of speech- 
making. To be sure there was lacking much of 
the picturesqueness which characterized the 
joint debates between Kirkwood and Dodge in 
1859. The railroads also made it possible to 
get from place to place with greater comfort 
and expedition than in the days when candi- 
dates must depend almost entirely on stage 
lines and private conveyances. But the candi- 
date addressed the people with much of his old 
magnetism and earnestness in a great many 
towns from one end of the State to the other. 
The result was that at the election held on 
October 12th he received over thirty-one thou- 
sand more votes than did his opponent, 
Shepherd Leffler.^^^ 

The third inauguration of Samuel J. Kirk- 
wood as Governor of Iowa occurred in the 
opera house in Des Moines on January 13, 1876. 
After the officers-elect had entered the hall and 
taken the seats assigned to them the Capital 
City Band played ''Hail to the Chief". Rev. 
J. W. Murphy then offered prayer and the band 
played "The Mocking Bird". Thereupon the 
oath of office was administered to the newly 
elected officers and Governor Kirkwood deliv- 
ered his inaugural address.^^^ 

Because this was the centennial year, the 
Governor dwelt at length on the progress of the 
Nation during the preceding century and of 



340 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

Iowa since the coming of the first settlers. He 
had very little advice to offer the General As- 
sembly in the way of a program for legislation, 
except to suggest the need of reform in criminal 
procedure and to recommend railroad rate reg- 
ulation, including the creation of a railroad 
commission. The needs of the State and its 
various institutions had already been set forth 
by his predecessor.^^^ 

Governor Kirkwood's third period of service 
as chief executive of Iowa was brief and com- 
paratively uneventful. Perhaps the mere 
routine of the office had increased in volume 
during the twelve years since he last sat in the 
Governor's chair. But with his memories of 
the strenuous days during the war he must have 
felt that his duties were very light.^^^ A year 
passed, with almost nothing of importance to 
be recorded in the executive journal. Then on 
the first day of February, 1877, there was in- 
scribed this record : ' ' Upon this day, Samuel J. 
Kirkwood, having been elected a senator of the 
United States for six years from the fourth day 
of March, vacated the office of Governor of the 
State of Iowa, whereupon, in accordance with 
the constitution, Joshua G. Newbold, the 
lieutenant governor, assumes the discharge of 
the duties of the office of Governor. "°^'^ 



XXIX 

Senator in His Own Right 

The nomination of Kirkwood for Governor in 
June, 1875, did not banish his aspirations for 
the senatorship : it merely postponed his active 
efforts in that direction. There was newspaper 
discussion of the senatorial question through- 
out the period of the State campaign; but the 
candidate centered his energies on the race for 
the governorship. 

October 12th, the day of the State election, 
however, marked the beginning of a new cam- 
paign. ''When the smoke of the contest has 
cleared away," wrote Jacob Rich on the fif- 
teenth, "we must canvass the condition of the 
new battle field. "^-"^ That the canvass was 
thorough is shown by the fact that the candidate 
received fully three hundred letters during the 
last three months of the year 1875 bearing on 
the senatorial contest. Chief among the Gov- 
ernor's supporters were Jacob Rich, J. N. 
Dewey, E. R. Kirk, Caleb Baldwin, and George 
G. Wright. These men and others labored 
earnestly in Kirkwood 's behalf. Members of 
the legislature were interviewed or letters were 

341 



342 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

written to them in efforts to secure a promise 
of their votes. The Governor was kept in- 
formed of the prospects and supplied with more 
advice than he could well use. 

Senator Allison's attitude was one subject on 
which there was difference of opinion. E. R. 
Kirk and George D. Perkins wrote from Sioux 
City expressing the belief that Kirkwood had 
been nominated for Governor in order to defeat 
him for Senator, and that Allison had a part in 
the plan. They warned the Governor that 
Allison and Harlan were now working hand in 
hand to secure the latter 's return to the Senate. 
Caleb Baldwin likewise seems to have been 
doubtful of the Dubuque Senator's support. 
*'I have had a talk with Allison," he wrote 
about the middle of December, "he says he is 
all right for you, but is tied. I told him you 
were not tied when you were asked to aid him. 
This he admitted freely." Jacob Rich, how- 
ever, denied that Allison was opposed to Kirk- 
wood: he was "simply letting the thing alone 
personally. "^^'^ 

Any fears which Kirkwood himself may have 
had on this point must have disappeared after 
reading a letter from Allison written on De- 
cember 19tli. "I felt quite sure that the appre- 
hension of some of your friends possibly 
somewhat shared in by yourself, that I would or 
was forming alliances in another direction 



SENATOR IN HIS OWN RIGHT 343 

would be dispelled before the canvass had 
progressed very far. None such were ever 
thought of by me, for a moment, as our friendly 
relations beginning with my boyhood, or youth, 
and until now uninterrupted, to say nothing of 
my deep obligation to you for various services, 
which aided materially in securing what little 
of success I have achieved, would all preclude 
the idea of any such combination. "^^^ 

While Kirkwood's closest friends assured 
him that the election as Governor ought not and 
would not prove a stumbling-block in his path- 
way to the Senate, other people were not so 
certain. Especially discouraging were the re- 
plies received from many members of the legis- 
lature. Typical was the letter from M. C. 
Jordan, a Representative-elect from Linn 
County. '*I voted for you in State Convention 
for Governor," he wrote, "and our choice was 
backed up by the unanimous vote of the repub- 
licans of Iowa at the polls. I do not suppose 
there was ten men in convention, or one hundred 
in the State that would have voted for Mr. 
Newbold for Governor, now would it be right 
for 150 men to deprive the people of Iowa of 
their choice for Gov. and put in a man that they 
did not want."^'*^ 

As the campaign began to ''warm up" it 
required repeated urgings on the part of his 
friends to induce Kirkwood to take aggressive 



344 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

action in his own behalf. He always enjoyed a 
contest like that for Governor, where the issues 
could be squarely met in public speech. But he 
had no taste for the wire-pulling and scheming 
which an election by the legislature involved. 
"I know how natural it is in you", wrote J. N. 
Dewey, ''to shrink from any such contest — 
how loth to say, or to do anything of yourself 
for yourself .... you must shake off all 
that kind of sentiment. "^^^ 

"You must have a thorough organization of 
your friends throughout the State", advised 
Jacob Rich. "You must get at the influences 
and the men that control each member, and 
capture them if you honorably can. . . . 
There are many honorable ways to reach men, 
and these ways you and the immediate advisers 
about you must study. , . . There is honest 
expenditure — a legitimate use of means — in 
this."^^" 

Apparently the chief purpose for which 
money was used during this campaign was to 
pay the expenses of people who went to Des 
Moines to exert whatever influence they might 
have over the members of the legislature. Late 
in December Jacob Rich sent a list of the names 
of twenty-seven men from northeastern Iowa 
whom he had invited to go to Des Moines. Some 
of them would pay their own expenses, others 
must be guaranteed that their way would be 



SENATOR IN HIS OWN RIGHT 345 

paid, while in a few cases it would be necessary 
to furnish railway tickets. Rich promised to be 
as ''circumspect as possible in the matter of 
expense." E. R. Kirk of Sioux City also in- 
formed the Governor that several influential 
men from that section would go to Des Moiiies. 
One man had declared that he would spend one 
hundred dollars out of his own pocket rather 
than see Kirkwood defeated. ''I do not think 
it improper", said Kirk, "to pay some of these 
poor devils of Country editors their ex- 
penses. "^^^ 

By the time the General Assembly convened 
in January, 1876, the candidates in the sena- 
torial contest were definitely known. Chief 
among Kirkwood 's competitors for the Repub- 
lican nomination was his old opponent of the 
campaign ten years before — James Harlan. 
There were also Hiram Price, William "VV. 
Belknap, and George W. McCrary — all men of 
ability who had enough supporters to give them 
some hope of success. 

On January 11th it was announced, without 
much previous discussion, that the Republican 
caucus would be held on the following evening. 
"The announcement created a decided sensa- 
tion, and made a stir through the great crowd, 
and was followed by a tumult at all of the 
different headquarters. It precipitated things 
with a rush, and made a busy night of it." 



346 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

There was also "much telegraphing to and fro, 
and plenty of bracing-up messages from home 
ordered up by all sides." 

The Republican caucus on the evening of 
January 12tli was an orderly and good-natured 
meeting. Senator Fred A. Teale called atten- 
tion to the rickety condition of the building in 
which the caucus was held, and warned the 
members '* against indulgence in tumultuous 
applause." Then, to the surprise of nearly 
everyone, John S. Woolson arose and read a 
letter from James Harlan requesting that his 
name be withdrawn from the list of candidates. 
The chief cause of this withdrawal was learned 
on the following day when it became known that 
Harlan had been called to the bedside of his 
son, who had been seized with a fatal illness 
while on his way to California. 

The withdrawal of Harlan's name upset all 
calculations. No one could predict for which 
candidate his friends would now cast their 
votes, though it seems to have been expected 
that they would favor Hiram Price. Thus the 
informal ballot was watched with breathless 
interest. The counting of the ballots showed 
Kirkwood far in the lead with fifty-three votes, 
while his nearest competitor, Hiram Price, had 
only twenty-four. But no one had a majority. 
The first formal ballot, however, gave Kirk- 
wood fifty-six votes, which was one more than 



SENATOR IN HIS OWN RIGHT 347 

was necessary to a choice, and he was forthwith 
declared to be nominated unanimously.^ ^^ 

One week later, in joint convention of the two 
houses of the General Assembly, he was de- 
clared duly elected United States Senator from 
Iowa for the full term of six years beginning on 
March 4, 1877.^''^ ''I find nothing but grati- 
fication at your success", w^rote Jacob Rich. 
''I never felt so good in all my life. "^^'^ 

On the Saturday after his nomination in the 
caucus Governor Kirkwood returned for a brief 
visit to his home in Iowa City, where he was 
given an enthusiastic reception. As the train 
neared the station a salute was fired, and 
Lyon's Band of twenty pieces played "Hail to 
the Chief". Amid the cheers of the crowd the 
Governor was conducted to a carriage and 
driven to the St. James Hotel; and during his 
progress from the station to the hotel a "Sena- 
torial salute of fifteen guns was fired". After 
supper the distinguished citizen was taken to 
Ham's Hall, "where an immense crowd awaited 
him, hundreds being unable to gain admittance. 
His entrance to the hall was the signal for the 
w^ildest demonstration of applause". 

Chancellor William G. Hammond of the Law 
Department of the State University delivered a 
brief address of w^elcome, expressive of the 
affection and admiration which the people of 
Iowa City felt toward the man they had assem- 



348 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

bled to honor. Governor Kirkwood, much 
affected by the demonstration, responded very 
briefly. "I guessed by a despatch received 
yesterday", he said, "and I learned by a news- 
paper that I read on the train the fact of my 
reception here to-night — I should be dull and 
insensate if I did not appreciate the honor done 
me by the people of the State of Iowa. . . . 
I have lived in Iowa City 21 years and I love, as 
you all do, the city in which we live. We all 
feel as we ought to the friendship which gives 
greeting to one who has drawn a prize in the 
Lottery of Life. I will promise, and this is all 
I have ever promised, that in the discharge of 
my duties I will do the best I can and if what I 
shall do will meet your approval, when done, I 
shall feel fully rewarded. "^"^^ 

For a year after his election to the senator- 
ship Samuel J. Kirkwood remained in the 
Governor's chair. On February 1, 1877, he 
resigned, and shortly afterward set out for the 
national capital to attend a short special session 
of the Senate. The greater part of his time 
during the next five years was to be spent in the 
city where as a youth he had acquired a taste 
for politics and public debate. When the work 
of the Forty-fifth Congress opened in earnest in 
October, 1877, Mrs. Kirkwood accompanied her 
husband to Washington, and during the entire 



SENATOR IN HIS OWN RIGHT 349 

period of Ms senatorship they made tlieir home 
at No. 1314 Tenth Street, North West.^^^ 

Mr. Kirkwood served in the Senate for a 
period of four years. During this time there 
were six sessions of Congress. Among his 
associates, in addition to William B. Allison, 
his colleague from Iowa, were James G. Blaine, 
Roscoe Conkling, Henry L. Dawes, Wade 
Hampton, Hannibal Hamlin, George F. Hoar, 
L. Q. C. Lamar, Justin S. Morrill, Oliver P. 
Morton, Henry M. Teller, and Allen G. Thur- 
man. Throughout the period he was a member 
of the committees on foreign relations, pen- 
sions, and post offices and post roads. 

There is nothing spectacular about Kirk- 
wood's career in the United States Senate 
during these four years. His last legislative 
service was very similar in character to his 
activity in the Iowa State Senate at the begin- 
ning of his public career. He was very seldom 
absent from his seat; he worked diligently in 
committees ; he introduced a considerable num- 
ber of bills and endeavored to secure their 
passage ; and he gave close attention to the dis- 
cussions on the floor of the Senate. But he did 
not often participate at any length in the de- 
bates, and he never made a long, formal speech. 
This does not mean, however, that he failed to 
contribute his full share to the deliberations 
and to the forming of conclusions on important 



350 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

measures. His remarks, though usually very 
brief, were clear and to the point. He wasted no 
time in quoting poetry or in long-winded argu- 
ments as did some members of the Senate. 

About the longest and certainly the most 
notable speech made by Senator Kirkwood 
occurred on June 20, 1879, during the debate on 
the army appropriation bill. The particular 
point at issue was a section of the bill declaring 
that no part of the money appropriated should 
be so used as to enable any portion of the 
United States army to be used to keep the peace 
at the polls at any election in any of the States. 
Senator Kirkwood readily admitted that the 
army could not be used as a police force in 
purely local affairs in the States. In all such 
cases the army could only be sent into a State 
in response to a request from the State author- 
ities, when they found themselves unable to 
cope with the situation, whatever it might be. 

But the Iowa Senator was firm in the belief 
that it was the right and duty of the President, 
without request or even permission, to send the 
United States army anywhere within the coun- 
try when the Federal Constitution or laws were 
violated, and there was a failure on the part of 
local authorities to bring violators to punish- 
ment. Representatives in Congress were Fed- 
eral officers; their offices were established by 
the Constitution; and they were in no sense 



SENATOR IN HIS OWN RIGHT 351 

State officials. If the bill meant that the army 
could not be used to suppress violence at the 
polls in the election of Representatives, then he 
was unalterably opposed to that particular 
section. To hold that Congress had the power 
to pass an election law, and yet did not have the 
power to enforce it, would be ridiculous. ''A 
government that cannot do that is incomplete", 
he declared. "A government that has to rely 
upon something else than itself, upon some 
other power than its own to enforce its own 
law, is not a government". 

''Let me make myself understood now", he 
continued. ' ' There is a great deal of talk about 
the Government of the United States inter- 
fering in the States to keep the peace. Nobody 
claims that it has the right to do that ordi- 
narily ; but it is claimed that whenever a consti- 
tutional law is passed by Congress it goes of its 
own power, not by favor, not by permission 
from anybody, but of its own constitutional 
vigor it goes through the whole length and 
breadth of our land and attaches to and becomes 
part, so to speak, of every inch of our soil." 

This view was elaborated by means of illus- 
trations and by answers to the questions of 
other members. Senator Kirkwood then in- 
sisted that the Democratic Senators should 
state their exact meaning in connection with the 
particular section of the bill under dispute. 



352 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

"Now I say, in all kindness and all frankness," 
he declared, *'it is not for the Senate of the 
United States to pass a law the meaning of 
which is shown to be doubtful. Am I right? 
Is it a becoming thing in this body, said to be 
the most dignified deliberative body in the 
world — ah, well we will continue to say so — 
is it becoming in this body, when the fact is 
brought to its attention, that upon the face of a 
bill pending before it for action uncertainty, 
doubt, dispute exists as to what is the true 
meaning of that bill, that it shall not be made 
clear!" 

Although partisanship and sectionalism had 
run high in some of the debates, because the 
principal instances of violence at elections had 
occurred in the South, he assured the Southern 
Senators that the Republicans did not wish ill 
to the people of their section. "They wish the 
prosperity of the people of the South", he said, 
"as well as they do of any other section of our 
country. They wish that prosperity because 
the people of the South are part of our great 
family, and if you will not believe that we wish 
you prosperity for that reason, then believe it 
for a worse, lower, more selfish reason. We 
have common sense enough to know that your 
prosperity is the prosperity of the country of 
which we are a part. Give us credit for selfish- 
ness at least, if for nothing else but that. We 



SENATOR IN HIS OWN RIGHT 353 

do desire your prosperity, and we know, we 
think we know", that that is to be obtained on the 
sole condition of peace, quiet, and good order 
among you." 

There was still another reason why he op- 
posed the section. "The complaint I have to 
make," he said, "and the complaint that is 
working its way all through the northern coun- 
try, is that there is a steady and persistent 
effort in every direction and in every way to 
weaken this Government, to tear off a power 
here, a power there, and a power elsewhere, one 
by one, session after session, year after year, 
until you leave it incapable of its own preserva- 
tion. . . . The people of our Northern 
States are afraid that that process is going on 
to-day. . . . And now when our democratic 
friends — I hate to use the term in this Cham- 
ber — when our friends on the other side of the 
Chamber shall have explained by their votes, if 
they will not explain otherwise, whether this 
section 6 that was, and section 5 that is now, is 
a mere excrescence, a mere wart, so to speak, on 
this bill, a senseless impertinence, meaning no 
offense to any one — when they shall have ex- 
plained to us by their votes whether that is the 
case, or whether it means that much larger and 
greater thing, that in no case shall the Govern- 
ment of the United States have power to enforce 
election laws anywhere and everywhere in the 

24 



354 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

limits of our country, I shall be prepared to 
cast my vote. "^^^^ 

This speech was received with hearty ap- 
proval. Especially significant were the re- 
marks of Senator Benjamin H. Hill of Georgia, 
who had been a member of the Confederate 
Congress. "First of all," he declared, "I want 
to express to the Senator from Iowa .... 
the great gratification I have felt in listening to 
his speech. He has made an able, a dignified, 
and an excellent speech, worthy of a Senator 
anywhere and in any age. If all the speeches 
made on this floor were made in the same spirit 
and with the same clearness and patriotic 
temper which the Senator has exhibited, I think 
that what he intimated as doubtful would never 
be doubtful again, and that is, whether this is a 
dignified body. ... I want my friend to 
know and I want his people to know that the 
patriotic, the manly, the catholic, the national, 
the unsectional sentiments which fell from his 
lips, and which I know animate his bosom, meet 
with a warm and hearty response in mine and in 
the bosoms of my people. He and such as he, 
whether republicans or democrats, we can take 
to our arms and hearts and call our fellow- 
citizens forever. "•''^^ 

The speech received favorable comment in 
newspapers in Iowa and throughout the coun- 
trv. Senator Kirkwood likewise received manv 



SENATOR IN HIS OWN RIGHT 355 

letters of congratulation. ''The Honorable 
Senator from N. York (Conkling) spoke bril- 
liantly to the Senate", wrote J. C. Stone of 
Burlington. "The Honorable Senator from 
Vermont (Edmunds) made a great law argu- 
ment for the guidance of the President and the 
Cabinet; you have spoken to the understanding 
of the people who will highly appreciate your 
effort. "■^^- 

Because of his membership on the committee 
on pensions, Senator Kirkwood spoke fre- 
quently on that subject, which was then growing 
rapidly in importance because each year it 
involved a larger and larger sum of money. 
His wide acquaintance among the soldiers and 
his deep interest in them might easily have 
inclined him to great liberality in respect to 
pensions. But he was among those who, while 
insisting on full justice, warned the Senate 
against establishing policies, the end of which 
could not be foreseen.'' ^^ 

His views on the currency were expressed in 
remarks favoring the resumption of specie pay- 
ments and opposing the complete remonetiza- 
tion of silver."^ "^^ When the funding bill was 
under discussion he argued in favor of offering 
a certain portion of the bonds to popular sub- 
scription throughout the country.-^ "^^ His sup- 
port was given to a bill to establish a tariff 
commission.^ ^'^ Bills relative to the transpor- 



356 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

tatioii of live stock and establishing a bureau of 
animal husbandry likewise received much atten- 
tion from him."''^' With regard to Indian affairs 
his policy was neither one of mawkish senti- 
mentality nor one which disregarded the rights 
of the Red Men.^^« 

During these four years Senator and Mrs. 
Kirkwood lived very simply, deviating but little 
from the mode of life to which they were accus- 
tomed in their Iowa home. There were numer- 
ous invitations to social functions, but neither 
of them cared much for the formalities of 
official society. On the other hand, they found 
great pleasure in the rich opportunities for 
acquaintance and friendship with interesting 
men and women from all sections of the country. 
The intervals betw^een sessions of Congress 
were spent in Iowa City. It was alw^ays a relief 
to be back in the home of which they had grown 
so fond, where there was light and air and 
plenty of room.^^** 

Political campaigns, both in Iowa and else- 
where, claimed some of Senator Kirkwood 's 
time during recesses. During the presidential 
campaign of 1880 he spent three weeks on the 
stump in Indiana, and made two rousing Repub- 
lican speeches in Indianapolis. 

*'0f course Republican legislation did not 
bring the country bad crops or good crops", he 
said on one of these occasions, "but yet it had 



SENATOR IN HIS OWN RIGHT 357 

much to do with the present prosperity. No 
mechanic or farmer can work with bad tools. 
So the business of this great country cannot be 
done without a sound dollar, and a sound dollar 
has come because you have got honest money, 
and it is because we have given the people of 
this country that kind of money that the work- 
shops have been re-opened, and the fires have 
been re-lighted, and everything has gone on 
well. . . . We have done another thing dur- 
ing the time we have had possession of the 
government. . . . We have converted four 
millions of chattels into four millions of people, 
and that flag that waves so proudly to-day does 
not wave over a slave. . . . If we shall have 
to hand this government over to-day, we shall 
hand it over when liberty-loving people through- 
out the whole length and breadth of this land, 
and all the liberty-loving people of the world 
are looking up to it again as a beacon light and 
exemplar, when it is teaching every nation of 
the world that free governments among men are 
a reality, and when all liberty-loving people in 
all liberty-loving lands are learning from us the 
lesson that government 'of the people, by the 
people and for the people' still exists, and may 
exist in all the nations of the earth. "^^'^ 

By this time the question of whether he would 
be a candidate to succeed himself as Senator 
was being called to Kirkwood 's attention by his 



358 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

friend s/"'*"'^ But all plans along that line were 
laid aside, temporarily at least, when on March 
1, 1881, he resigned from the Senate to accept a 
seat in the President's Cabinet. 



XXX 

Secretary of the Interior 

The appointment of Samuel J. Kirkwood as 
Secretary of the Interior under President 
Garfield was not entirely unexpected, either to 
himself or to his friends. As early as February 
20, 1881, Jacob Rich mentioned the rumor of 
the possibility of a call to the Cabinet. A 
Washington newspaper announced on March 
2nd that Kirkw^ood had "been suggested to the 
President-elect as a fit person to be made Secre- 
tary of the Interior." The Senator, it was 
stated, denied that he had been consulted, but it 
was known that Senator Logan had made appli- 
cation for his seat in the front row in the 
Senate.^^2 

As a matter of fact, however, Garfield had 
already made up his mind concerning Cabinet 
appointments. Before his departure for Wash- 
ington he gave Professor B. A. Hinsdale of 
Hiram College a list of the men whom he 
intended to appoint, and among them was Sen- 
ator Kirkwood as Secretary of the Interior.^*^^ 

The appointment was made on March 5th, and 
on the same day Kirkwood resigned from the 

359 



360 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

Senate. Congratulations now poured in from 
all parts of the country in such numbers that 
during the next three weeks his clerk was kept 
busy writing notes of acknowledgment. One of 
the earliest letters to arrive was one from 
Kirkwood's old friend and law partner, 
Barnabas Burns, of Mansfield, Ohio, who had 
previously written to Garfield in support of 
Kirkwood. "It is a good many years ago, 
Sam," wrote I. J. Allen, another old Mansfield 
friend, "since you and I used to buck around 
over the Richland County hills, try cases before 
Dan. Riblet, and John Stewart, and Dave 
Miller ; and make stump speeches. , . . and 
all such tom nonsense. . . . The scenes in 
our old shabby court house, when Parker was 
stammering out good law from the Bench, & 
Stewart and Newman, and May, and Bartley & 
Brinkerhoff, and all the rest of us were grind- 
ing out logic, such as it was, to convince the 
court of its ignorance and blunders, are all be- 
fore me still. "^*^^ 

Equally warm were the congratulations of 
Kirkwood's good friend, Jacob Rich. But he 
was well enough acquainted with administrative 
affairs at Washington to know something of the 
tasks ahead of the new Secretary. "I have no 
doubt of your ability to promptly jabber Choc- 
taw and Creek, Sioux and Piute, and to be the 
'great father' of all the Gros Ventres and Nez 



SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR 361 

Perces tlirougliout the realm," he said, "but 
won't all the Mephistophelian clans, red, white 
and yellow, that make continuous raids upon 
the chief of the Interior, in disguises calculated 
to deceive the most shrewd and the most watch- 
ful, worry and harrass you? There are legions 
of them, and they are worse than any devils in 
monkish legends, for neither holy act or pious 
speech can exorcise them. The more you beat 
down, the more there spring up. ... I 
fancy that the most onerous place under the 
government, or in the nation, is the Secretary- 
ship of the Interior — and the most fatal to 
men's reputations — for the more honest the 
man the more persistent the assaults upon him 
by the scoundrels who cannot use him. "'"'^''"' 

Secretary Kirkwood did not take formal pos- 
session of his office until March 8th, although on 
the previous day he was closeted for several 
hours with his predecessor, Carl Schurz. The 
first formal meeting of the Cabinet under Presi- 
dent Garfield was also held on March 8th, and 
the Secretary of the Interior was in his place. 
According to his subordinates ''when he sat 
down at his desk the first day he came into the 
Department as its chief he lighted his cigar, 
placed his old-fashioned spectacles on his nose, 
and proceeded to dispatch business as quietly, 
methodically and industriously as if he had 
been there for years." During the day he had 



362 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

many callers, some to offer congratulations and 
others seeking office. ^^^ 

Office-seekers were the bane of Kirkwoocl's 
life during the first weeks in his new position. 
''I am getting along as well as I could expect, 
under the circumstances," he wrote to Jacob 
Rich on March 14th, "doing very little but 
hearing people ask for offices and telling them 
that I am not yet ready to make any appoint- 
ments. "^"^^ And not only did position hunters 
call upon him in person, but they wrote letters 
by the score. Some in their haste even used the 
telegraph. "Cant you appoint me Commis- 
sioner for the indians or Chief Clerk my knowl- 
edge California titles would be valuable", was 
the message received from a citizen of Du- 
buque. ^*^® 

The pressure from Iowa was especially 
strong. People in this State seemed to feel that 
this was their great opportunity to secure 
lucrative government positions. In fact, the 
number of applications was so large that Kirk- 
wood declared that if he should fill all the avail- 
able positions with lowans there would still be 
many worthy applicants to be disappointed, 
while the rest of the country would be entirely 
ignored. He could not in fairness give Iowa 
more than its fair proportion of appoint- 
ments.^*'^ That he did for his own State all that 
could reasonably be expected is evidenced by 



SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR 363 

the number of appointments. Besides the 
choice of Hiram Price as Commissioner of 
Indian Affairs, twenty- six Iowa men and women 
were given positions in the various bureaus of 
the Department, in addition to those already 
there. ^"^ 

The one year during which Samuel J. Kirk- 
wood held the portfolio of the Interior was not 
marked by any notable constructive activity. 
By the time he had become partially acquainted 
with the details of the work of the various and 
wholly unrelated bureaus of the Department 
there occurred the fatal event which robbed the 
Nation of its President. Afterwards the tenure 
of his position was so uncertain as not to 
justify the inauguration of any distinctive pol- 
icies. And it must be admitted that Secretary 
Kirkwood lacked the genius for administration 
of the type required in the Department of the 
Interior. He was so good-natured that he 
could not rid himself of the swarms of office- 
seekers and visitors who infested his office. At 
the same time he insisted on seeing personally 
practically all the correspondence which went 
through the office. The result was that the cor- 
respondence was often neglected. ''Letters and 
documents are piled up several feet high over 
Kirkwood 's desk," it was said at one time, no 
doubt with some exaggeration, ''while bales of 
them are in adjoining rooms awaiting his 
attention. "^^^ 



364 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

Indian affairs, however, constituted one 
phase of the work of his office with which Secre- 
tary Kirkwood was particularly familiar be- 
cause of his experience in the Senate; and on 
this subject he had a definite policy. Within 
two days after assuming the duties of his new 
office he had a two-days ''talk" with a dele- 
gation of Ute Indians. In spite of criticism 
emanating from Massachusetts to the effect that 
Kirkwood 's motto w^as that the "only good 
Indian is a dead one", a Washington editor 
praised the Secretary's attitude. "Mr. Kirk- 
wood is a man of kindly feelings and of great 
practical experience", declared the editor. 
"His Indian policy will be as far removed from 
the 'brutalities of the frontier' as from the 
'sloppy' sentimentality of these perturbed re- 
formers. "^^^ 

About the middle of April there came a copy 
of one of Joaquin Miller's books on the Indians, 
accompanied by a letter. "I trust Sir", said 
the author, ' ' the Indian will have rest and peace 
under your care. I know the Indian well. 
Perhaps better than any man that ever wrote a 
book about him. And I affirm he is not a bad 
man." He was glad to offer his services, if the 
Secretary could find any use for them. "And 
then I am not entirely unselfish in this desire to 
serve the Indians", he continued, "for I am so 
weary of books and want once more to get out 
in my roomy West."^"^ 



SECRETARY OP THE INTERIOR 365 

**I have received your note of the 16th inst., 
as well as the volume to which it refers, and 
thank you very much", was Kirkwood's reply. 
''I think the Indian is a man, and that in all 
our relations with him strict justice should be 
done, with a decided leaning to that mercy 
which the strong should always show toward 
the weak."°"'* 

This desire to deal justly with the Indians is 
also expressed in the Secretary's letters to 
inspectors of Indian agencies. "You will here- 
after exercise due caution, and make no prom- 
ises to the Indians which have not first been 
authorized by the Department", he instructed 
one inspector.^ '^ "In the performance of your 
duties as inspector", he wrote to another, "you 
will, on visiting the various agencies, carefully 
observe everything connected therewith affect- 
ing the interest and well-being of the Indians 
and the public interest, and forward to this 
Office a full and particular report in writing of 
your observations with such recommendations 
as may seem to you proper ; your reports should 
give verbal photographic views of each agency. 
. . . In short, j^ou are the eyes through 
which this Office must see and judge of what is 
being done at each agency, and upon your 
intelligence, accuracy, and impartiality largely 
depends its power to properly direct its oper- 
ations. "^"^"^ 



366 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

The Indian policy of Secretary Kirkwood, as 
might be expected, was most clearly set forth in 
his report, which was made on November 1, 
1881. He urged larger expenditures for the 
education of the Indians and especially for the 
teaching of agriculture. He believed that the 
Indians' title to land should be made as valid 
and placed as fully under the protection of the 
courts as the titles of the white settlers. "In 
the case of the Indian," he said, "he may have 
the privilege of keeping his home if he will 
sever the ties of kinship and remain behind his 
tribe ; but few do this. I wish to emphasize the 
point that we are asking too much of the Indian 
when we ask him to build up a farm in the 
timber or on the prairie, with the belief that at 
some future time he will be compelled to choose 
between abandoning the fruits of his labor, or 
his kindred and tribe. White men would not do 
so, and we should not ask Indians to do so." 
Along with this recommendation he advocated 
the reduction of both the size and number of the 
reservations."'" 

On July 2nd, as President Garfield was about 
to take the train to visit his alma matey, 
Williams College, he was shot by the assassin, 
Charles J. Guiteau. For more than three 
months he lingered between life and death ; and 
for his official family it was a period of alter- 
nate hope and despair. 



SECRETARY OP THE INTERIOR 367 

Mrs. Kirkwood was in Iowa City during the 
summer of 1881, but her husband, who spent 
much time at the White House, frequently sent 
her official bulletins telling of the President's 
condition, often writing a brief note on the 
back. ''The Doctors are quite encouraged", he 
wrote as late as August 28th, "and speak so 
much more hopefully that even Mac Veagh is 
cheerful & hopeful this morning. Of course all 
this may be lost and the worst may yet happen, 
but the prospect of a favorable result is much 
brighter. "^'^ 

It was during this period when there was 
some hope that the President might recover, 
that Secretary Kirkwood leased a house, at 
seventy-five dollars a month, where he and Mrs. 
Kirkwood might live more comfortably and in a 
manner more fitting to their station. "I sleep 
'on the hill' to-night", he wrote on the last day 
of August, "Charley sleeps in the House with 
me. I think we will like it there but there will 
be some fixing up tQ do when you get here. 
They cleaned up some, but think you will be 
inclined to do some more. Mrs. Price says she 
thinks she can get us a good girl here that she 
knows. The girl tells Mrs. Price she will wait 3 
or four weeks if she can be sure of the place. 
She is a wdiite girl, some thirty years old — 
says she can cook, wash, iron & do any thing. 
What shall I do about it? I took dinner at 
Prices to-day, "^'^ 



368 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

The hope inspired by the President's rally 
late in August was of short duration. Gradu- 
ally he grew weaker, and on September 19th he 
died, mourned by the entire Nation. 

On September 22nd, as a matter of course, 
Secretary Kirkwood tendered his resignation to 
President Arthur. Although he fully expected 
that it would be accepted, there were several 
months of uncertainty. He remained in the 
Cabinet, looking after the regular work of his 
Department. In the midst of the brilliancy of 
Washington society during the winter the 
Kirkwoods w^ere noted for their simplicity. 
"He has a strong, shrewd, kindly face, with 
high cheek-bones, deep wrinkles and heavy eye- 
brows", was a reporter's description of the 
Secretary of the Interior. "A remnant of 
whisker is allowed to escape the barber high up 
on each cheek. The gray does not yet dominate 
over the brown in his hair. His clothes look as 
if a village tailor had constructed them under 
strict orders to pay no attention to fashion- 
plates and to make them ample, strong and com- 
fortable. The big slouch hat which he wears on 
the street must be a veteran of many contests 
with wind and rain on the Iowa prairies. Its 
owner never minds the shape it gets into when 
he swings it upon his head, takes his stout stick 
and strides out of his office. . , . This 
farmer-looking man carries a vigorous, prac- 



SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR 369 

tical brain under his felt hat, and a warm heart 
under his loose sack coat." 

Mrs. Kirkwood likewise received her full 
share of notice. "Her face makes one feel 
happy and kindly everytime it is looked upon", 
declared one w^riter. ''Her sweet, motherly 
ways, low-toned pleasant voice, mild, brown- 
colored eyes and dark hair, combed smoothly 
over her serene brow and countenance is full 
of matronly grace and goodness. We are sure 
her husband was never crossed in his blessed 
life. Even his pet cigar is respected by his 
wife. It rests one to meet these women who are 
strong in the highest essentials of patience, 
prudence, and the rich experience of a happy 
and complete home life."^^*' 

Finally, in the spring of 1882, President 
Arthur appointed Henry M. Teller of Colorado 
as Secretary of the Interior. On April 15th, 
therefore, Samuel J. Kirkwood bade farewell to 
all the employees in the Department, and early 
in the following week departed for his home in 
Iowa. ' ' The retirement of Mr. Kirkwood from 
the Interior Department", was the comment of 
a Washington editor, ''is in more than one 
respect to be regretted. ... he brought to 
his new position, a reputation for usefulness 
and capacity in public affairs extending over 
nearly a quarter of a century, such as any man 
might envy. . . . He had also practical 

25 



370 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

ideas of his own relative to the Civil Service, 
which, in the face of considerable opposition 
.... he proceeded at once to enforce. . . . 
He has proved himself an able, sagacious Secre- 
tary, above all suspicion of corruption or favor- 
itism. . . . He goes back to Iowa .... 
with the record of a man who served his party 
with zeal, but, in the heat of partisanship, kept 
steadily in view the obligation which he owed 
his country. "^^^ 



XXXI 

Last PARTiciPATioisr in Politics 

When Kirkwood retired from the Cabinet in 
April, 1882, he was nearly seventy years of age, 
although remarkably robust in body and alert 
in mind. His retirement from office, therefore, 
did not mean immediate withdrawal from public 
affairs. His appointment as a member of the 
Tariff Commission had been practically agreed 
upon, but there was some slip and the plan fell 
through. ^'Personally I felt much vexed, for I 
had hoped to have the pleasure of seeing you 
and Mrs. Kirkwood here very soon", wrote the 
new Secretary of the Interior. "Mrs. Teller 
was also much disappointed. I do not know 
what you want, but I do know that the Presi- 
dent is disposed to do whatever you ask him to 
do. He appeared to be much worried over the 
failure to put you on the commission."^®- 

Shortly after his return to his home Mr. 
Kirkwood became president of the Iowa City 
National Bank. During the latter part of June 
he served with Governor Buren R. Sherman 
and Augustus C. Dodge on a committee to col- 
lect funds for the relief of the sufferers from 

371 



372 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

the disastrous tornado at Grinnell. In the fall 

he delivered an address at the Iowa State 
Fair.583 

The political campaign of 1883 was one of 
great interest. It was at this time that the 
Republican party definitely espoused the cause 
of prohibition. This was an issue on which Mr. 
Kirkwood found himself at variance with a 
majority of the members of the party. Espe- 
cially did he object to the action of the State 
convention in rejecting James G. Day as its 
candidate for Justice of the Supreme Court, 
because of his decision against the validity of 
the prohibitory constitutional amendment. 
Kirkwood considered this action as unjust and 
as an attempt to exert undue influence on the 
decisions of the Court. He frankly and publicly 
declared his intention to vote against Joseph R. 
Reed, who received the nomination instead of 
Day. For this attitude he received both praise 
and censure.^^^ *'I have been inexpressibly 
pained by the course of the State press toward 
you", wrote a citizen of Waterloo. ''Honesty 
of purpose and strength of conviction count for 
naught with the demagogues who framed a 
plank in our platform which is as glaringly 
fraudulent and dishonest as their action in the 
convention was communistic and damnable. "^^^ 

Prohibition and all the other issues of the 
campaign were soon forgotten, however, in the 



LAST POLITICAL CAMPAIGN 373 

pleasure of a journey to the Far West. "I tele- 
graphed you yesterday to know if you would 
accept a position as commissioner to examine 
the Oregon and California line of road", wrote 
Secretary Teller about the middle of June, 1883. 
*'The President said he would like to give it to 
you, and we thought you might not have much 
on hand, and would like to take Mrs. Kirkwood 
and make a trip to California, and then to Port- 
land, and by the time you got through the N. P. 
R. R. would be completed or nearly so, and you 
could come back that way. "^^® 

This journey, with the opportunity it offered 
to visit the great Northwest, then just at the 
beginning of its development, was greatly en- 
joyed by both Mr. and Mrs. Kirkwood. At 
Tacoma they attended a banquet in honor of a 
member of the party whose investments of 
capital were among the factors in promoting 
the growth of the town. In the course of a 
brief address on this occasion Mr. Kirkwood 
referred to the West as "the grand college, the 
university where the great subject taught is 
common sense." "You must know", he said, 
*'that the true Bostonian sun rises behind 
Plymouth Rock, stops for a time over Faneuil 
Hall in Boston, and sets near the mouth of 
Hoosic Tunnel." The Virginian likewise be- 
lieved that "the sun rises at the head of Chesa- 
peake Bay, pauses and takes oif its hat as it 



374 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

passes Mt. Vernon where Washington died, and 
sets somewhere on the Kanawha river." But 
both Bostonians and Virginians soon laid aside 
these inherited ideas when they took up homes 
in the West, where the ''typical American" was 
being reared.^^"^ 

The next three years passed uneventfully. 
Mr. Kirkwood lived quietly in his home on the 
outskirts of town, devoting his time chiefly to 
the duties of his position as bank president. 
Occasionally he made speeches, chiefly on patri- 
otic occasions or at soldiers' reunions. ^^^ 

Then in the summer of 1886 Samuel J. Kirk- 
wood became again and for the last time a 
candidate for public office. On August 19th he 
was nominated as Representative in Congress 
from the Second Congressional District, under 
circumstances which made his defeat practically 
certain. The district convention of the Repub- 
lican party, which met at Davenport on that 
day, was described as ''most disorderly and 
inharmonious". Two irreconcilable factions 
were present. One, consisting of the delegates 
from Clinton, Jackson, and Muscatine counties, 
were in favor of fusion with the Knights of 
Labor and the nomination of T. J. O'Meara. 
The other faction, composed of the delegates 
from Scott, Johnson, and Iowa counties, op- 
posed fusion and insisted on the nomination of 
Mr. Kirkwood. Neither side would give way; 



LAST POLITICAL CAMPAIGN 375 

bitter and denunciatory speeches were made; 
and finally each faction nominated its own 
candidate.^^^ Afterward each side claimed to 
be the Republican party of the district. 

After due deliberation Kirkwood decided to 
accept the nomination. Immediately, as might 
be expected, he was the recipient of many let- 
ters of praise and blame. Republican leaders 
outside of the district as a rule commended 
him; while within the district he had many 
warm supporters. "This I want to say," wrote 
Edward Russell of Davenport, "in the language 
of Sumner to Grant — ' Stick '."^^*^ 

On the other hand, his acceptance of the nom- 
ination was greeted with great disfavor by 
those who believed that in fusion lay the only 
hope of defeating the Democratic candidate, 
Walter I. Hayes. "I speak frank to you Gov- 
ernor," wrote J. C. Root of Lyons, "and I am 
honest in my convictions, and would be sorry to 
see you, after a life of victories, to now begin to 
taste defeat, and snow us under beyond resur- 
rection. " " Some call it heroic for Kirkwood to 
run", was the comment of a Wapello editor. 
"So was it heroic for Don Quixote to charge 
the wind mill, but it was very absurd, for all 
that. . . . It is an ill-advised piece of work 
that the old war governor would not have 
engaged in, in his palmier days." Another 
writer reminded him of the fate of Horace 



376 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

Greeley, James B. Weaver, and other men who 
had bolted from their party.^*^^ 

Kirkwood's age was another gromid for 
objection to him. "Did you knotv the war was 
over"? asked a citizen of Muscatine. "I 
thought I'd tell you. You have heard the old 
saying 'once a man & twice a child.' It is the 
opinion of people generally that you have 
entered into the 3rd period contemplated in this 
old adage. " Other letters from the same writer 
were addressed to "My Dear Grandfather", 
and one closed with the expression of "due 
sorrow for your condition". He was constantly 
sending Kirkw^ood newspaper clippings adverse 
to him. "Do not think me undutifuU in failing 
to reply to your two late letters", he wrote 
shortly before the election, "but you must 
remember children & old people have more 
time than those in middle life. ' ' ^''- 

In spite of all discouragements, however, 
Kirkwood fought the campaign to the end. 
Believing firmly in the preservation of party 
integrity, he felt that the action of the fusionist 
faction was wholly irregular and dangerous, 
because it had chosen a candidate who did not 
hold to Republican principles. "I squarely 
deny the right and the power of a political dele- 
gate convention to compel its constituents either 
to lose their votes or to cast them for one not of 
their political faith", he said in a public letter 



LAST POLITICAL CAMPAIGN 377 

written the last of August. "I regret only that 
the necessity of the situation seemed finally to 
require my nomination. But some Republican 
was required to take up the burden, and as the 
choice fell upon me, I accept it cheerfully with 
whatever of responsibility may attach to the 
act, and shall do the best I can to justify the 
choice. "^''^ 

It was a forlorn hope, and the candidate was 
well aware of the fact. Nevertheless, he made a 
thorough canvass of the district, beginning with 
a vigorous speech at Davenport on September 
24th. Senator Allison and Hiram Price were 
also scheduled to speak in his support.^^^ The 
latter, however, did not take part in the cam- 
paign. Early in October he wrote from Wash- 
ington that he feared, because of his strong 
prohibition views, he would do more harm than 
good, but he w^ould pay one hundred dollars to 
secure another speaker. ''If you say send the 
check I '11 send it, if you say come I '11 do it if it 
kills me." Later a mutual friend in Washing- 
ton wrote to Kirkwood that Price ''reminds me 
of an imprisoned hound (no unkind reflections 
meant) who hears the blowing of the hunter's 
horn and the yelp of the pursuing dogs, but 
cannot break away to join in the chase." 

The same writer sent Kirkwood a box of 
Potomac herring, which he knew the candidate 
would enjoy whether he won or lost. "In the 



378 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

one event", lie said, ''they will aid your reflec- 
tions on the 'journey up Salt River;' in the 
other they will give a foretaste of coming pleas- 
ures beside the quiet Potomac. '"^^^ 

It was not Kirkwood's destiny, however, to 
return to Washington in an official capacity. 
Walter I. Hayes was elected Congressman, 
although between his two opponents were 
divided a sufficient number of votes to have 
defeated him if they had all been cast for one 
candidate. ^^^ Thus in his last campaign for 
office Samuel J. Kirkwood met defeat. 



XXXII 

The Closing Years 

The last eight years of Mr. Kirkwood's life 
were years of peace and quietness. Retro- 
spection now came largely to take the place of 
anticipation. Bodily strength began gradually 
to fail, so that the task of a walk to the office, 
fully a mile from his home, became too great to 
be attempted on stormy days. Occasionally 
still he responded to requests to address sol- 
diers ' reunions, and nearly always he urged his 
hearers to commit to paper their recollections 
of their every-day life in the army.^^'^ He con- 
templated the carrying of this preaching into 
effect in his own case by the writing of an auto- 
biography.^^^ But this plan never came to 
fruition, partly no doubt because he was given 
the opportunity to assist Mr. Henry W. Lathrop 
in the writing of The Life and Times of Samuel 
J. Kirkwood, published in 1893. 

Year by year Mr. Kirkwood spent more and 
more of his time at his home. Always fond of 
reading, he now found ample opportunity to 
indulge his tastes in this direction. Residents 
of Iowa City remember him as he sat on the 

379 



380 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

veranda of his home on summer evenings, 
smoking a cigar, while Mrs. Kirkwood sat 
near by with her knitting. Nearly always, as in 
all the years of their life in Iowa, there were 
children or young people about the home — the 
sons and daughters of relatives or friends. 

Especially enjoyable during these declining 
years were the letters and visits of old friends. 
On December 20, 1886, Hiram Price wrote from 
Washington congratulating Kirkwood upon 
reaching his seventy-fourth birthday. ' ' I wrote 
you on your birthday, ' ' ran another letter from 
Price in January, 1887, "to which you kindly 
and promptly replied, and now I write you on 
my birthday. Seventy three eventful years are 
behind both of us. . . . There is much food 
for thought in a retrospect of 73 years of active, 
earnest life. What changes, what surprises, 
what disappointments .... what a kaleido- 
scopic panorama it enrolls before us. . . . 
I think I may fairly infer from your letter that 
you attribute, (to some extent at least) your 
physical, financial and political success to three 
things. To wit. First. Mush and milk. Second. 
Burns' poems, and third, the shorter cate- 
chism. "^^^ 

''I can remember," wrote Grenville M. Dodge 
several years later, "when you were first run- 
ning for governor, of traveling over West Iowa 
with you, when you were stumping that portion 



THE CLOSING YEARS 381 

of the State, and of our long acquaintance from 
that day until you left public life. ... I 
shall never forget how loyally and sensibly you 
sustained us during the war, so different from 
many governors, in promoting the men in our 
regiments whom we in the field recommended. 
That was one reason of the great efficiency in 
line of battle of the Iowa troops. "^^° 

Late in September, 1892, Mr. Kirkwood, then 
nearly eighty years of age, received an ovation 
such as comes to few men during their lifetime. 
It was ex-Governor Buren R, Sherman who con- 
ceived the plan of having a gathering of old 
friends at Iowa City in honor of the old war- 
time executive. The idea met with favor and 
fifty or more invitations were sent out.*^"^ 

The twenty-eighth of September was a beauti- 
ful autumn day. The Kirkwood home ''never 
showed to better advantage than on that after- 
noon ; lawn and tree, flower and vines, forming 
an almost pastoral setting to the scene, and 
bringing to some who came from busy city life 
a scene of peace and rest that told of the days 
of quiet enjoyment and care-free repose they 
would gladly secure." 

By noon there had gathered at the old St. 
James Hotel about thirty men who had known 
Samuel J. Kirkwood intimately for many years, 
and most of whom had been connected with him 
in some official capacity. Among those in the 



382 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

group, many of whom had journeyed across the 
State to pay their respects to their friend, 
were Buren R. Sherman, George G. Wright, 
W. H. M. Pusey, Charles Aldrich, John Russell, 
S. S. Farwell, James H. Rothrock, Gifford S. 
Robinson, B. F. Gue, William T. Smith, William 
G. Thompson, R. S. Finkbine, James A. Wil- 
liamson, Peter A. Dey, Samuel H. Fairall, 
Charles A. Schaeffer, John Springer, N. H. 
Brainerd, and Henry W. Lathrop. 

At one-thirty the members of the party were 
conducted to the finest carriages which Iowa 
City afforded, "and it was a most interesting 
ride for the visitors through the city to the 
Governor's home." Upon their arrival they 
were ushered into the house by Mr. Lathrop, 
and there they found the ex-Governor sitting in 
his favorite easy chair at one end of the room. 
When all had been seated, George G. Wright, 
formerly Justice of the Iowa Supreme Court 
and United States Senator and one of Kirk- 
wood's warmest friends, spoke briefly of the 
reason for which they were assembled. ''Gov- 
ernor Kirkwood," he said, "we are here as 
your friends, to take you by the hand and tell 
you how much we like you. . . . Some of 
your friends suggested that we come without 
giving you notice and take you by surprise, but 
I objected for several reasons. I knew you had 
been quite unaccustomed to making public 



THE CLOSING YEARS 383 

speeches [laughter] and if we should come and 
take you by surprise you might not be equal to 
the occasion, [Laughter] Then again, we all 
know how anxious you are about your attire, 
and if we should come without notice you would 
not have time to put on your dress suit and 
diamond pin, and especially that steel watch 
chain which was your inspiration and the ad- 
miration in days gone by of those large crowds 
to whom you spoke." 

''We are here as friends," he continued, 
"and without regard to political distinction. 
We are here Democrats and Republicans . . 
. . We come to greet you, to give you proof 
of our esteem and kindly feeling, to congratu- 
late you in your happy home, as also your 
devoted, helpful wife; because we know how 
much you have done for Iowa, and for the 
nation. Amid the din and clangor of arms, and 
with this nation hanging, trembling in the bal- 
ance, you, as the chief executive of the State, 
were true to your high principles, and to your 
sense of duty, to pure ideas and thoughts and 
principles. Because you were faithful, for this 
we love you, we come to see you this day. ' ' 

''And now. Governor Kirkwood," he said in 
conclusion, "I take you by the hand, and in 
behalf of the people of Iowa, for the friends 
here (for I know the kindness that prompts 
their coming), and they join with me in saying. 



384 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

^May God bless you, and your wife, and your 
home. May a kind Providence that has been so 
kind to you, still longer bless you, and preserve 
you many years to Iowa and the nation. ' ' ' 

Visibly affected by these expressions of affec- 
tion, Mr. Kirkwood made a few remarks indica- 
tive of his appreciation of the honor conferred 
upon him by his guests. Afterward he shook 
each man's hand. Cigars were passed and a 
pleasant half-hour w^as spent on the lawn in 
friendly recollections of days long gone by. 
The guests were then asked to gather in a group 
and a photograph was taken — a photograph 
which reveals the faces of more than thirty 
gray-haired men. 

Several other members of the party now 
made brief addresses, none of them more elo- 
quent than that of William G. Thompson of 
Marion. '*I have known you Governor, for 
thirty-six years; in law-making and law-ex- 
pounding, you were my Mentor. Legislation 
under your guidance, was directed to the future, 
not less than for the present, and laws were 
made that stood the test of time and stand 
to-day. . . . Whatever the future may have 
in store, your reputation and your fame are 
secure to the people and the coming genera- 
tions." 

Letters from friends who could not come 
were also read. ''It is but just", wrote Samuel 



THE CLOSING YEARS 385 

Murdock, *'and in keeping with the history of 
that noble old man, Samuel J. Kirkwood, that 
those of his contemporaries who have known 
him best and have passed with him through all 
of his great and heroic struggles, that have 
rendered his name immortal for all coming 
time, should in his decline meet once more at 
his domestic fireside, and w^hile all still live, 
there congratulate him on the achievements of 
a long and useful life, crowded full with the 
events of his country's history, in which his 
name and his fame will be forever mingled." 

Jacob Rich wrote of his deep regret that he 
could not be present to express in person his 
admiration and affection. ''I regret that I am 
so pressed for time before going to Washing- 
ton, or I would come to call upon you as a loving 
son would visit his Father", was the letter 
which came from David B. Henderson. "But I 
send you affectionate greetings and trust that 
the coming winter will deal kindly with you and 
that you may long be spared to us as a tender 
warming influence to your devoted people."*'^- 

Thus the afternoon passed rapidly in the ex- 
pression of friendship and admiration, and the 
time came when some of the guests must go to 
the train which would take them to their homes. 
Before they went, however, Mrs. Kirkwood 
insisted that they must partake of her hospi- 
tality, and so coffee and sandwiches "were 

26 



386 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

served on the lawn under lier direction and 
with the assistance of Mrs. Rachel Pritchard, 
Mrs. L. C. Jewett, Mrs. A. M. Greer, Misses 
Etta and Annie Jewett, and Mrs. Pritchard 's 
pretty little daughter." Then with "hearty 
hand clasps, fervent prayers of blessings" yet 
to come to the Old War Governor, and "good- 
byes", the guests departed. 

The following summer, on June 20, 1893, in 
the Governor's reception room in the State 
House at Des Moines, there was another cere- 
mony, more formal but equally expressive of 
the affection which the people of Iowa bore to 
Samuel J. Kirkwood, who was at his home in 
Iowa City too feeble to attend. At that time 
there was unveiled a large oil portrait of the 
old Governor, paid for by the people of Iowa 
through an appropriation by the legislature, 
and painted by a distinguished Iowa artist — 
George H. Yewell. Again there were speeches 
eulogistic of the man whose days were drawing 
so near to a close. And thus there came to him 
while he yet lived the praise and evidences of 
affection which too often the public bestows on 
its servants only after they are gone.**"^ 

The sands in Samuel J. Kirkwood 's hour 
glass were now running low. After a brief ill- 
ness he passed away, calmly as one falling to 
sleep, on September 1, 1894 — Mrs. Kirkwood 's 
birthday. Iowa City and all Iowa mourned 
him. Newspapers far and near paid tribute to 



THE CLOSING YEARS 387 

liis memory. And once again many old friends 
journeyed to Iowa City to attend the funeral 
and pay their last respects to his memory. 
With fitting ceremonies he was buried in beauti- 
ful Oakland Cemetery; and Mrs. Kirkwood 
went back to the old home, where she is still 
living as these lines are written. 

There is no need for an interpretation of 
the character and services of Governor Kirk- 
wood. His words and actions speak so clearly 
that he who reads may learn from them what 
sort of man he was. The estimate of his con- 
temporaries leaves no doubt of his place among 
the men of his generation. The years as they 
passed brought ample fulfillment to the pro- 
phetic words, already quoted, which were writ- 
ten by the venerable Eliphalet Price in 1863 : 
"No Governor of low^a, while acting as such, 
extended the area of his personal acquaintance 
so widely over the State as yourself. Men and 
women everywhere, will, as time rolls on, en- 
large the story of their acquaintance with you, 
with many manifestations of pride, and the 
child of to-day will be pointed out by the next 
generation, as the gray-haired man who in 
childhood had talked with Gov. Kirkwood. The 
History of the Rebellion cannot pass you by, 
upon its pages you will live through those 
future centuries that shall preserve the exist- 
ence of man.'"^^^ 



NOTES AND REFERENCES 



389 



NOTES AND REFERENCES 

CHAPTER I 

1 ' ' The Kirkwood family in America date back to 1731, when 
Robert Kirkwood and his widowed sister-in-law with her two 
children, a son named Robert, three years old, and a sister older 
emigrated from Londonderry in the north of Ireland". — 
Lathrop's The Life and Times of Samuel J. Kirkwood, p. 7. 

2 There is to-day a small town in New Castle County, Dela- 
ware, which bears the name Kirkwood. 

3 This was a son of the Robert Kirkwood first mentioned in 
Note 1, above. 

■i Henry Lee 's Memoirs of the War in the Southern Depart- 
ment of the United States, p. 96, footnote. 

5 This was the fatherless, three-year-old boy mentioned in 
Note 1, above. 

6 Though there was a great difference in their ages Samuel 
Kirkwood was very fond of his oldest half-brother, Robert, 
whom he often called ' * the best man God ever made ' '. 

Concerning Coulson Kirkwood, whose full name was William 
Coulson, scarcely any information has been found. 

Samuel 's mother was born in Scotland, her maiden name 
being Mary Alexander. 

John Kirkwood was one of those who migrated to Ohio in 
1835; and he later followed his younger brother to Iowa. His 
home in Iowa City stood at the northeast corner of Summit 
Street and Kirkwood Avenue. 

Wallace Kirkwood became a druggist in Washington, D. C. 
He never came west to live. 

These facts concerning the Kirkwood family were secured 
from Mrs. Samuel J. Kirkwood. 

391 



392 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

7 For a description of the house in which Samuel J. Kirk- 
wood was born the writer is indebted to Mrs. Kirkwood. A cut 
is printed in Lathrop's The Life and Times of Samuel J. Kirk- 
wood, opposite p. 10. 

8 Lathrop 's The Life and Times of Samuel J. KirJcwood, 
p. 11. 

9 Lathrop 's I'he Life and Times of Samuel J. Kirkwood, 
p. 12. 

10 Lathrop's The Life and Times of Samuel J. Kirkwood, 
pp. 12, 13; and statements made to the writer by Mrs. Kirk- 
wood. 

11 Data for the above account of Kirkwood 's life in Washing- 
ton, D. C, was secured in part from Mrs. Kirkwood, and in part 
from Lathrop's The Life and Times of Samuel J. Kirkivood, 
pp. 13-16. 

12 One of Kirkwood 's poetic efforts, dated Washington City, 
December 29, 1834, and bearing the heading "Written by 
request for the album of a friend", begins with the following 
lines : 

"Lines for an album? let me see — 
What the deuce shall the subject be? 
Love? 'tis hackneyed; Friendship too; 
Moonlight anything but new; 
Pangs that despairing lovers feel 
Though they would rend a heart of steel 
Are common; common as the darts 
With which sly Cupid strikes the hearts 
Of blushing maidens; as the strain 
In which fond lovers still complain 
When they by fate or rival's art 
From those they love are forced to part. 
Now I hate all things common; so 
I'll choose a subject bran span new. 
But what shall it be? What will suit? 
I'll tell you what, my own old boot." 
Thereupon he proceeded to praise the old boot which "sits so 



NOTES AND REFERENCES 393 

easy, like a good old friend"; and to compare a new boot with 
the so-called ' ' friends ' ' who continually are pointing out one 's 
faults — 

* ' Such friends as these if I my mind may tell 
I wish were with new boots all safe in . ' ' 

At other times he wrote of the beauties and charms of various 
real or imaginary damsels ; though it would be difficult to deter- 
mine from the evidence of these glowing lines whether the 
young man had become enamoured of any particular young 
lady. — Autograph Album of Samuel J. KirTcwood. 

CHAPTER II 

13 Statement of Mrs. Kirkwood. See also Lathrop 's The Life 
and Times of Samuel J. Eirlcwood, p. 16. 

i-t Lathrop 's The Life and Times of Samuel J. Kirkwood, 
p. 10. 

13 Mansfield, Ohio, the county seat of Richland County, where 
the Kirkwoods settled, was estimated to be three hundred and 
eighty miles from Washington, D. C. — Jenkins 's The Ohio 
Gazetteer, and Traveler's Guide (Columbus, 1837), p. 505. 

16 For a description of this type of wagon see Hulbert 's 
Historic Highways of America, Vol. X, pp. 129, 130. 

17 See map in H. S. Tanner's The American Traveller (Phila- 
delphia, 1836). Braddock's Road is described in Hulbert 's 
Historic Highways of America, Vol. IV. 

18 Quoted in Hulbert 's Historic Highivays of America, Vol. 
X, p. 186, 

19 Hulbert 's Historic Highivays of America, Vol. X, p. 174. 
From this volume the writer secured most of the facts used in 
the brief description of the Cumberland Road, and the busy 
traffic which it carried. 

20 See Hulbert 's Historic Highways of America, Vol. X, pp. 
182, 183. 

21 See maps in Hulbert 's Historic Highways of America, Vol. 



394 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

X, pp. 55, 79; and in Tanner's The American Traveller (Phila- 
delphia, 1836). A brief account of a journey over the Cumber- 
land Eoad from Cumberland to Brownsville may be found in 
Peyton's Over the Alleghanies and Across the Prairies (Lon- 
don, 1869), Ch. II. 

-~ The story of this episode was related to the writer by Mrs. 
Kirkwood. It is also mentioned in Lathrop's The Life and 
Times of Samuel J. Kirldoood, p. 17. 

23 See map in Jenkins 's The Ohio Gazetteer, and Traveler 's 
Guide (Columbus, 1837). 



CHAPTER III 

21 The population of Richland County in 1830 was 24,007, 
and in 1840 it was 44,823. — Howe's Historical Collections of 
Ohio, Vol. II, p. 474. 

2''' Howe's Historical Collections of Ohio, Vol. II, p. 474. 

2<5 Jenkins's The Ohio Gazetteer, and Traveler's Guide (Co- 
lumbus, 1837), pp. 379, 380. 

27 Jenkins's The Ohio Gazetteer, and Traveler's Guide (Co- 
lumbus, 1837), p. 379; and Johii Sherman's Recollections of 
Forty Years, Vol. I, p. 51. 

28 The writer is indebted to Mrs. Kirkwood for a description 
of the Kirkwood home in Richland County. 

20 Mrs. Kirkwood, who was herself a teacher in Richland 
County for several years, gave the writer a very interesting 
account of the schools of that day and particularly of Mr. 
Kirkwood 's life as a country school teacher. 

30 Autograph Album of Samuel J. Eirl-ivood. The poem on 
the Chartist movement, dated Newville, December 25, 1839, may 
also be found in the loica Historical Record, Vol. VIII, pp. 
318, 319. 

31 Lathrop's The Life and Times of Samuel J. Kirhwood, 
pp. 18, 19. 



NOTES AND REFERENCES 395 

32 Howe 's Historical Collections of Ohio, Vol. II, p. 477. 
John Sherman, however, was not so favorably impressed with 
the town on his first visit, for he said that ' * Mansfield was then 
a very unattractive village, badly located on parallel ridges and 
valleys". — John Sherman's Recollections of Forty Years, Vol. 
I, p. 47. 

33 See map in Jenkins's The Ohio Gazetteer, and Traveler's 
Guide (Columbus, 1837). 

3* Jenkins's The Ohio Gazetteer, and Traveler's Guide (Co- 
lumbus, 1837), p. 280. For a description of the town about 
ten years later and for cuts showing views of the public square, 
see Howe 's Historical Collections of Ohio, Vol. II, pp. 477, 479. 

35 Thomas W. Hartley was the son of Mordecai Hartley, one 
of the pioneers of Eichland County, who was a member of the 
lower house of Congress from 1823 to 1830, and who in 1844 
was elected Governor of Ohio on the Whig ticket. — See Howe's 
Historical Collections of Ohio, Vol. II, p. 489. 

Kirkwood's preceptor, as will be seen (see above pp. 39, 75) 
was later Governor of Ohio and Justice of the Supreme Court 
of that State. He also served for a time as United States 
District Attorney during the administration of President Polk. 
His appearance, a-bilities, and characteristics were described to 
the writer by Mrs. Kirkwood. 

36 A sketch of the life of Dr. E. W. Lake may be found in 
the Portrait and Biographical Album of Linn County, Iowa 
(Chicago: Chapman Brothers, 1887), pp. 591, 592. 

37 Barnabas Burns was a State Senator in Ohio from 1847 to 
1850. As will be seen, it was shortly after his retirement from 
this oifice that he and Kirkwood formed a partnership. The 
two men remained firm friends throughout their lives. Accord- 
ing to Mrs. Kirkwood a daughter of Barnabas Burns was still 
living in Mansfield in 1914. 

3S John Sherman's Recollections of Forty Years, Vol. I, p. 53. 

^^ John Sherman's Recollections of Forty Years, Vol. I, p. 52. 

40 The facts concerning this journey were related to the 
writer by Mrs. Kirkwood. 



396 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

CHAPTER rv 

41 Lathrop 's The Life and Times of Samuel J. Kirkwood, 
p. 21. Mrs. Kirkwood also gave the writer an account of the 
forming of this partnership. 

42 Mrs. Kirkwood furnished data concerning the early life of 
her parents in Ohio. A brief article on the Clark family may 
be found in the Iowa Historical Record, Vol. VII, pp. 129, 130. 

43 An account of the first meeting, courtship, and marriage of 
Samuel J. Kirkwood and Jane Clark was given to the writer by 
Mrs. Kirkwood. 

44 Lathrop 's The Life and Times of Samuel J. Kirkwood, 
pp. 21, 22. 

45 Data furnished by Mrs. Kirkwood. 

46 Mrs. Kirkwood furnished the writer with the above facts 
concerning the beginning of housekeeping and the reception of 
the newly married couple into the social life of Mansfield. 

47 The Ohio Constitution of 1802, which was in operation 
until 1851, made no provision for a Lieutenant Governor, and 
in case of death, impeachment, resignation or other disability, 
the duties of the oflfice of Governor were to be performed by the 
Speaker of the Senate. 

Thomas W. Bartley, who was a Democrat, served as Governor 
during the year 1844, and then was succeeded by his father, 
Mordecai Bartley, who was elected to the office on the Whig 
ticket. 

48 This episode is described by Peter A. Dey in the Annals of 
Iowa (Third Series), Vol. VII, p. 85; and it is corroborated by 
a similar account in John Sherman 's Becollections of Forty 
Years, Vol. I, p. 91. 

49 From Mrs. Kirkwood the writer gained a very clear idea 
of this unfortunate episode and of the character of the persons 
involved, besides a number of valuable letters, affidavits, and 
other papers relating to the ease. 

50 Ebenezer Lane was a Justice of the Supreme Court of 



NOTES AND REFERENCES 397 

Ohio from 1830 to 1845. Brief sketches of his life may be 
found in Howe's Historical Collections of Ohio, Vol. I, p. 577; 
and the Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly, Vol. I, 
pp. 251, 252. 

51 It is interesting to note that each of the three men — 
Thomas Ewing, Columbus Delano, and Samuel J. Kirkwood — 
later served as Secretary of the Interior, the first being ap- 
pointed by President Taylor, the second by Grant, and the third 
by Garfield. 

52 A brief account of the trial is to be found in Lathrop's 
The Life and Times of Samuel J. Kirkwood, p. 23. The facts 
were also related to the writer by Mrs. Kirkwood. 

A number of letters written to Kirkwood after the trial by 
Frank Barker's father, as well as by his young wife, furnish 
ample evidence of the desire of the Barker family that Bow- 
land's sentence might be changed to life imprisonment. Mrs. 
Kirkwood stated that Bowland was later pardoned by the 
Governor. 

53 Letter from Ebenezer Lane to Kirkwood, dated December 
7, 1846, in the possession of The State Historical Society of 
Iowa. 

54 Letter from Margaretta A. Barker to Kirkwood, dated 
December 15, 1846, in the possession of The State Historical 
Society of Iowa. 

CHAPTEE V 

55 ' ' My old friend, Mr. Kirkwood, was the prosecuting attor- 
ney of the county, and I renewed with him my 'moot court' 
experience in frequent contests between real parties." — John 
Sherman's Recollections of Forty Years, Vol. I, p. 83. 

50 The Ohio Constitution of 1802 may be found in Poore 's 
Charters and Constitutions, Part II, pp. 1455-1464. 

57 See Morris's Internal Improvements in Ohio, 18^5-1850, in 
the Papers of the American Historical Association, Vol. Ill, 
No. 2, pp. 107-136. 



398 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

"'S It has not been possible to arrive at a clear idea of all the 
reasons which brought about the revision of the Constitution of 
Ohio in 1850. Apparently the Convention of that year has not 
yet appealed strongly to any historical writer. The reasons 
stated by the present writer are clearly reflected in the debates 
in the Convention, reported by J. V. Smith and published in 
two volumes. See also Lathrop 's The Life and Times of 
Samuel J. Eirkwood, p. 25. 

59 The text of this act is to be found in Smith 's Debates of 
the Ohio Convention, Vol. I, pp. 17, 18. 

60 For a description of this building see Studer 's Columbus, 
Ohio: Its History, Besources, arid Progress (1873), pp. 321-323. 

01 The above data rela4;ive to the public services of the mem- 
bers of the Convention was compiled from the "blue book" 
known as The Biographical Annals of Ohio, 1906-1908. 

62 The data relative to the ages and occupations of the mem- 
bers of the Convention was compiled from a table in Smith 's 
Debates of the Ohio Convention, Vol. I, pp. 3-6. 

63 Smith's Debates of the Ohio Convention, Vol. I, p. 18. 

6i Smith's Debates of the Ohio Convention, Vol. I, pp. 64, 
m, 67, 95, 96, 128. 

65 Smith 's Debates of the Ohio Convention, Vol. I, pp. 207- 
209. 

66 Smith's Debates of the Ohio Convention, Vol. I, p. 254. 
Biennial legislative sessions were provided for in the Constitu- 
tion as finally adopted. 

67 Smith's Debates of the Ohio Convention, Vol. I, pp. 234, 
235, 236, 263, 282, 293, 302, 305, 306, 310. It would be difficult 
to determine whether these suggestions and amendments had 
any influence in the Convention. None of them were adopted 
at the time, but some of the same ideas, expressed perhaps in a 
somewhat different form, were embodied in the Constitution. 

6s Smith's Debates of the Ohio Convention, Vol. I, pp. 399- 
404. 



NOTES AND REFERENCES 399 

09 Smith 's Debates of the Ohio Convention, Vol. I, pp. 444, 
445, 447, 461-463, 467-469. Jury trial in a "court of record" 
for the assessment of damages in case of the granting of a 
right of way to a corporation was guaranteed in the Constitu- 
tion as adopted. — Article XIII, Section 5. 

On the question of exemptions from military duty, Mr. 
Kirkwood asked * ' why not make a general provision applicable 
to all laws, thait they shall be obligatory only on those who 
conscientiously believe them to be right, and that those who 
conscientiously believe any law to be wrong, may disregard it. ' ' 
As a matter of fact, no provision for exemptions was embodied 
in the article dealing Math the militia as finally adopted. 

^0 Smith's Debates of the Ohio Convention, Vol. I, pp. 459, 
461, 475, 495. 

71 Mr. Kirkwood favored a plan which had been proposed by 
which the State debt would be extinguished in forty years. 
"The amount to be raised each year", he said, "is one hunderd 
thousand dollars, which divided among 400,000 tax-payers, 
makes the sum of twenty-five cents to each man — equal per- 
haps to two sherry cobblers each year for forty years. And 
this will release us from the burthen of our State debt. ' ' 

" I do not want the public debt of the State to remain", 
said Mr. Kirkwood a little later, " as a basis for banking oper- 
ations, of any kind, whether of the State, free, or independent 
varieties; nor that it shall furnish the instruments for men to 
gamble with, at home or abroad. And I hold the duty of 
States as of individuals, to be out of debt, and to remember 
and abide by the injunction, 'owe no one any thing.' " — 
Smith's Debates of the Ohio Convention, Vol. I, pp. 482, 490, 
491. 

The plan for a sinking fund which Kirkwood favored was 
embodied in the Constitution. — Article VIII, Section 7. 

'2 Smith's Debates of the Ohio Convention, Vol. I, pp. 592, 
593, 598, 602, 615, 622, 624, 629, 649-651, 673, 675. 

"3 Mrs. Kirkwood told the writer of her visit to Columbus 
while her husband was there in attendance at the Convention 
and of the social life of the members. 



400 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

7-* See Studer's Columhus, Ohio: Its History, Resources, and 
Progress (1873), pp. 48, 49. 

'5 Smith's Debates of the Ohio Convention, Vol. I, pp. 729, 
730. 

Certain members opposed adjournment, some for partisan 
reasons, others because they feared it would prejudice the 
people against the Convention and the Constitution, and still 
others because it had been hoped that the Constitution could be 
submitted to the people at the elections in October. Kirkwood 
could see no reason for making adjournment a party question. 
Furthermore, said he, ' ' I have been told of enough of members 
who intend leaving, adjournment or no adjournment, to leave us 
without a quorum, and should that be the result, we will then 
be left here without the power to do business, and without the 
power even of adjourning. Other gentlemen know these things 
as well as I do; and although I regret that these things are so, 
I cannot help it, and cannot see any use of remaining longer. 
We cannot submit the new constitution to a vote of the people 
this fall, and that being considered, there is not a necessity, or 
any good reason, why gentlemen should remain here, certainly 
at the risk of health, perhaps at the risk of life, to finish the 
work now, when by adjourning until fall, we can meet again in 
a healthy season and lay our work before the people at the 
spring elections." 

CHAPTER VI 

70 Letter from Samuel J. Kirkwood to Mrs. Kirkwood, dated 
December 4, 1850, in the possession of The State Historical 
Society of Iowa. 

By taking a round-about route to Sandusky and thence south 
again, Kirkwood could, in 1850, have made the journey to Cin- 
cinnati entirely by rail. Possibly he did travel in this manner 
from Columbus to his destination. — See Paxson 's The Bailroads 
of the "Old Northwest Before the Civil War," in the Trans- 
actions of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Let- 
ters, Vol. XVII, Part I, p. 253. 



NOTES AND REFERENCES 401 

■" Kirkwood's experiences during the first days in Cincinnati 
are described in a lengthy letter written to Mrs. Kirkwood on 
December 4, 1850, in the possession of The State Historical 
Society of Iowa. 

's See Smith's Debates of the Ohio Convention, Vol. II, p. 3; 
and King's Pocket-boolc of Cincinnati (1879), p. 23. 

79 Smith's Debates of the Ohio Convention, Vol. II, pp. 36, 
37, 51, 52, 53, 55, 125. 

80 Smith 's Debates of the Ohio Convention, Vol. II, pp. 82, 83. 

81 For Kirkwood's remarks on the subject of corporations see 
Smith's Debates of the Ohio Convention, Vol. II, pp. 167, 186, 
187, 190, 191, 548, 549, 615-617, 624, 627, 630. The Constitu- 
tion as adopted provided that corporations might be formed 
under general laws, but that all such laws might at any time 
be altered or repealed. Special acts conferring corporate pow- 
ers were forbidden. — Article XIII, Sections 1, 2. 

82 Smith's Debates of the Ohio Convention, Vol. II, pp. 320, 
681. Mr. Kirkwood said that the only complaints concerning 
the system of legal procedure which he had heard came from 
"those men who are constantly prowling about our justices' 
courts; fomenting quarrels and disputes amongst their neigh- 
bors, and encouraging litigation." 

The provision for commissioners to which Kirkwood objected 
was nevertheless placed in the Constitution. — Article XIV. 

83 Smith's Debates of the Ohio Convention, Vol. II, pp. 328, 
329. 

8-t Smith 's Debates of the Ohio Convention, Vol. II, p. 341. 

85 Smith's Debates of the Ohio Convention, Vol. II, pp. 419- 
422. See also pp. 789, 792, 801, 830, 831. 

86 The Constitution of 1802 covers ten pages in Poore's 
Charters and Constitutions, while the Constitution of 1851 cov- 
ers nearly seventeen pages. 



27 



402 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

CHAPTER VII 

s'' Mrs. Kirkwood related to the writer the facts concerning 
this change of partners, which was not only agreeable to her 
husband, but was very much desired by him. In fact, it ap- 
pears that Kirkwood had a large part in securing Hartley's 
nomination as Justice. See also Lathrop's The Life and Times 
of Samuel J. Kirkwood, p. 24. 

88 Quotation from the Mansfield Herald in the Iowa Weehly 
Bepublican (Iowa City), August 24, 1859. 

89 Quotation from the Mansfield Herald in the Iowa Weekly 
Bepublican (Iowa City), August 24, 1859. 

Although Kirkwood had thus far been a staunch Democrat, 
like his father he had always been opposed to slavery, and this 
opposition was no doubt increased by his residence among the 
freedom-loving people of northern Ohio. Hence it was no 
sudden conversion which caused him to leave the old party. 

90 Quotation from the Mansfield Herald in the Iowa Weekly 
Bepublican (Iowa City), August 24, 1859. The writer has not 
been able to find the articles here mentioned, which were 
printed in a newspaper known as the Shield and Banner. 

^^ Iowa Weekly Bepublican (Iowa City), July 27, 1859. 

92 The sentiment in this congressional district was evidently 
strongly opposed to Douglas 's measure, for William D. Linds- 
ley, the Representative from that district, was one of the 
Democrats who voted against the bill in the lower house of 
Congress. 

In the Annals of Iowa (Third Series), Vol. IX, p. 208, it is 
stated that in 1855 Mr. Kirkwood "was a prominent candidate 
for Congress". The present writer, however, has not been able 
to find anything to support this statement. In fact, there was 
apparently no Congressman elected in that district in 1855. 
In the preceding autumn John Sherman was successful in his 
campaign for the position of Representative against William 
D. Lindsley; and in that campaign Kirkwood took the stump 
in support of Lindsley because he had voted against the Kansas- 



NOTES AND REFERENCES 403 

Nebraska bill. — See John Sherman's Becollections, Vol. I, pp. 
103-105; and a quotation from the Mansfield Herald in the 
Iowa Weekly Bepublican (Iowa City), August 24, 1859. 

93 For an account of this visit to Iowa City the writer is 
indebted to Mrs. Kirkwood. 

9* Mrs. Kirkwood informed the writer that the house was 
exchanged for a stock of merchandise which, she believed, was 
later used in the store in Iowa City. 

95 Lathrop 's The Life and Times of Samuel J. Kirkwood, 
p. 25. 

96 Quotation from the Chicago Journal in The Gate City 
(Keokuk), May 11, 1855. A glance at any of the newspapers 
published in the Iowa towns along the Mississippi will reveal 
the unprecedented rush of settlers to this State throughout the 
year 1855. See also Parker's Iowa as it is in 1856, pp. 63-65. 

97 The great emigration of the years 1854-1856 (during 
which time the population was increased nearly 200,000 or 
fifty-nine per cent) came almost entirely from the northern 
States. A large part of the voters who came in during that 
period and the four years that followed became members of the 
new Republican party, and ttus helped to overthrow the Demo- 
cratic party which had been in power in Iowa from the begin- 
ning of Territorial days. 

98 For an account of the journey to Iowa the writer is in- 
debted to Mrs. Kirkwood. 

CHAPTER VIII 

99 The population of Iowa City in 1854 was 2570 ; in 1860 it 
was 5214; but it was estimated at about 4000 in 1855. — See 
Hull's Historical and Comparative Census of Iowa, p. 515; and 
Parker's Iowa as it is in 1855, p. 146. 

The first train on the Mississippi and Missouri River Railroad 
(now the Rock Island line) arrived at Iowa City on January 3, 
1856. — Shambaugh's Iowa City: A Contribution to the Early 
History of Iowa, p. 106. 



404 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

-ioo A7inals of Iowa (First Series), Vol. XI, p. 609. 

101 For the history of this mill see Aurner 's Leading Events 
in Johnson County History (Cedar Eapids, 1912), Vol. I, pp. 
412-419; and History of Johnson County, Iowa (Iowa City, 
1883), pp. 729, 730. 

102 It has not been possible to determine just when this store 
was opened, but it is evident that it was being conducted as 
early as February, 1856. The store building was on Washing- 
ton Street near where the Burkley Imperial Hotel now stands. 

103 The house in Coralville in which the Kirkwoods took up 
their abode and in which they lived for ten years, was later 
burned to the ground, presumably through the carelessness of 
some tramps. 

Ezekiel Clark's first wife, it appears, had embraced the 
Mormon faith not long before this time and had departed for 
Utah, leaving to Mr. Clark the care of three small children. 

104 Lathrop 's The Life and Times of Samuel J. KirTcwood, 
p. 39; and the Annals of Iowa (First Series), Vol. XI, p. 609. 

105 The statement (no doubt exaggerated) was made in 1855 
that the mills cleared their owners "at least $10,000 per 
annum." — Parker's Iowa as it is in 1855, p. 145. 

106 History of Johnson County, Iowa (Iowa City, 1883), p. 
730; and Lathrop 's The Life and Times of Samuel J. KirTc- 
wood, pp. 38, 39. 

107 This information concerning the farm was furnished to 
the writer by Mrs. Kirkwood. 

108 For a time at least Mr. Kirkwood took charge of the mill 
and farm; while Ezekiel Clark managed the store and ware- 
house in town. 

109 Statements by Mrs. Kirkwood to the writer. 

110 Jowa Historical Becord, Vol. XVIII, p. 593; and Lath- 
rop 's The Life and Times of Samuel J. KirTcwood, pp. 39, 40. 
These two versions of the anecdote vary slightly in detail, but 
they are essentially the same. John F. Buncombe of Fort 
Dodge later became a prominent figure in Iowa history. 



NOTES AND REFERENCES 405 

111 From Mrs. Kirkwood the writer gained tlie foregoing 
infonnation concerning the earliest acquaintances and friends 
of the Kirkwoods in Iowa. 

112 Printed in The Iowa Citizen (Des Moines), September 14, 
1859, during Kirkwood 's campaign for Governor. 

113 Quoted in Pelzer's The Origin and Organization of the 
Bepublican Party in Iowa, in The Iowa Journal of History and 
Politics, Vol. IV, p. 500. In this article will be found an 
excellent account of the movement leading up to the convention 
of February 22, 1856, and of the convention itself. 

114 See The Daily Gate City (Keokuk), February 29, 1856. 

iisLathrop's The Life and Times of Samuel J. Kirlcwood, 
p. 46. Mrs. Kirkwood also corroborated the statements made 
above concerning Mr. Kirkwood 's part in the convention. 

116 Unfortunately there are no very satisfactory accounts of 
this convention, beyond the mere minutes of the proceedings, to 
be found. One of the best contemporary descriptions was one 
written by the editor of the Davenport Gazette, who was a 
delegate to the convention. The quotation used above is taken 
from this description as reprinted in The Daily Gate City 
(Keokuk), February 29, 1856. 

iiTLathrop's The Life and Times of Samuel J. Kirlcwood, 
p. 46. This story has been told so many times that it might 
almost be called an Iowa folk-tale. 

118 Eeminiscence of Mr. A. B. Cree printed in Aurner's 
Leading Events in Johnson County History, Vol. I, pp. 623, 624. 

ii^Lathrop's The Life and Times of Samuel J. Kirlcwood, 
p. 46. 

The address prepared by this committee is a detailed state- 
ment of the principles of the new party, covering four or five 
columns in a newspaper. It is printed in full in The Daily 
Gate City (Keokuk), March 24-26, 1856. 



406 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

CHAPTER IX 

120 Iowa City Republican (Daily), June 25, 26, 28, 30, July 1, 
1856. 

On July 1st the editor commented as follows on Kirkwood's 
nomination : 

"This is a fortunate nomination. Mr. K's experience in 
public life, his fine business habits and gentlemanly deport- 
ment, will give him an influence in the Senate enjoyed by few 
others in that body. He consents, reluctantly — as we have 
good reason to know — to the use of his name as a candidate. 
The office is not one of his seeking. He is obliged to make 
great sacrifices, by neglecting private business, in order to 
comply with the wish so strongly expressed by the Convention. ' ' 

i2iByers's Icnca in War Times, p. 29; Lathrop's The Life 
and Times of Samuel J. Eirkwood, p. 47. 

Kirkwood 's fame in his new home apparently reached the 
ears of his old friends in Ohio, for late in August he received 
a letter from M. Day of Mansfield asking him to come and 
make a speech at that place on September 2nd, in behalf of the 
Republican party. — Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 27, His- 
torical Department, Des Moines. This is a large collection of 
letters written to Kirkwood, covering in general the period 
from 1850 to 1890. 

122 In fact the Journal of the Senate, 1856-1857, records 
only about fifty instances during the entire session in which 
Kirkwood took any part in the proceedings, aside from casting 
his vote on the various propositions before the Senate. For 
instance, he introduced only five bills (pp. 25, 258, 277, 354, 
415) and six resolutions (pp. 27, 110, 121, 125, 139, 207) ; 
while on only ten occasions (pp. 131, 160, 316, 334, 396, 408, 
413, 434, 450, 490) did he offer amendments to bills proposed 
by others. It should be borne in mind, however, that neither 
the legislative journals nor the newspapers of that day give 
any good idea as to tEe debates in the legislature, and hence it 
is difficult to obtain a true evaluation of the part taken by any 
particular member. 



NOTES AND REFERENCES 407 

123 Proceedings of the Pioneer Lawmakers ' Association of 
Iowa, 1902, p. 25. 

124 Journal of the Senate, 1856-1857, pp. 20, 21, 34, 169, 177, 
206, 277, 354. 

^25 Journal of the Senate, 1856-1857, pp. 127-132, 

126 Quoted in Lathrop's The Life and Times of Samuel J. 
Kirkwood, pp. 49, 50. Mr. Lathrop was, at the time of this 
episode, a correspondent for a Chicago newspaper. 

127 Journal of the Senate, 1856-1857, p. 160. See also Lath- 
rop 's The Life and Times of Samuel J. Kirkwood, pp. 50, 51. 

128 Journal of the Senate, 1856-1857, pp. 27, 121, 207, 408. 

129 Journal of the Senate, 1856-1857, pp. 107, 108. 

^30 Journal of the Senate, 1856-1857, p. 438. Mr. Lathrop 
gives Kirkwood credit for securing the initial appropriation 
also. — The Life and Times of Samuel J. Kirkwood, p. 54. 

131 Laws of Iowa, 1856-1857, p. 466. 

Mr. Kirkwood served only a little more than a year as a 
member of the Board of Trustees, for by the Constitution of 
1857 and the legislation of 1858 there was created and organ- 
ized a State Board of Education which had control of all the 
educational interests of the State, and a new Board of Trustees 
was created by that authority. See Aurner's History of Edu- 
cation in Iowa, Vol. I, Chs. Ill, IV. 

CHAPTEE X 

132 Muscatine Daily Journal, January 27, 1857. 

133 At least three elections, in April, August, and October, 
were held that year. See The Iowa Weekly Citizen (Des 
Moines), August 5, September 2, 16, 1857. 

134 This letter is printed in the Annals of Iowa (Third Se- 
ries), Vol. VIII, pp. 508, 509. 

135 Letter from Grimes, March 24, 1857, and another of about 
the same time but without date, in Kirkwood Correspondence, 
No. 30. 



408 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

136 The incidents of this tour are described in Lathrop 's The 
Life and Times of Samuel J. Eirkwood, pp. 57-61; and the 
proceedings of the Pioneer Lawmakers' Association of Iowa, 
1892, p. 42. 

137 In the itinerary as announced in the newspapers Kirk- 
wood, Henry O'Connor, and "other distinguished Republicans" 
were scheduled to meet Samuels at Newton, Montezuma, Oska- 
loosa, Sigourney, Washington, Mt. Pleasant, Wapello, Iowa 
City, Marengo, Toledo, Vinton, Marion, Anamosa, Tipton, and 
Davenport, between September 17th and October 6th. — Musca- 
tine Daily Journal, September 11, 1857. It is probable that 
Kirkwood filled only his share of these appointments. 

138 Letter of James W. Grimes to Kirkwood. December 4, 
1857. — Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 38, Historical Depart- 
ment, Des Moines. A similar statement is to be found in a 
letter written a month earlier, on November 5th. 

Kirkwood apparently did not oppose the candidacy of his 
neighbor, William Penn Clarke, but when it became apparent, 
in the Eepublican legislative caucus in January, 1858, that 
Clarke had absolutely no chance, Kirkwood was left free to 
throw his whole-hearted support to James W. Grimes. — See 
Lathrop 's The Life and Times of Samuel J. Kirkwood, p. 61. 

For a discussion of this senatorial campaign see Clark 's 
History of Seiiatorial Elections in Iowa, Ch. V. 

139 Letter from James W. Grimes to Kirkwood, November 5, 
1857. — Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 36. 

140 Proceedings of the Pioneer Lawmakers' Association of 
Iowa, 1898, p. 88; The Iowa Weekly Citizen (Des Moines). 
April 7, 1858. 

141 This description of Des Moines at the time of the con- 
vening of the Seventh General Assembly is taken largely from 
the following reminiscences of men who were members of that 
Assembly: Gue's The Seventh General Assembly in the pro- 
ceedings of the Pioneer Laivmakers' Association of Iowa, 1898, 
pp. 86-98; Carpenter's Beminiscences of the Winter of 1868 in 
Des Moines in the proceedings of the Pioneer Lau'makers' 



NOTES AND REFERENCES 409 

Association of loiva, 1892, pp. 53-63; Grinnell's Men and 
Events of Forty Years, pp. 122, 123. 

The isolation of Des Moines at this time is emphasized by 
the fact that it was not until late in 1857 that its citizens were 
furnished with a daily mail service. — The Iowa Weekly Citizen 
(Des Moines), December 30, 1857. 

142 Journal of the Senate, 1858, pp. 36, 61, 68, 94, 149, 196, 
222, 259, 266, 278, 455, 554. Senator Kirkwood took part in 
the proceedings of this session much more frequently than 
during the preceding session. 

143 These bills were Senate Files Nos. 49, 95, and 111. Their 
course through the Senate may be traced by consulting the 
index to the Journal of the Senate, 1858. See also Laws of 
Iowa, 1858, pp. 46, 48, 214. 

•i-i* Journal of the Senate, 1858, pp. Ill, 320, 604, 605. 

145 For amendments proposed by Kirkwood, see Journal of 
the Senate, 1858, pp. 177, 186, 263, 264, 270, 296, 300, 302, 303, 
304, 318, 334, 356, 362, 364-367, 370, 371, 377, 378, 411, 447, 
475, 531, 586, 594, 605. 

li^ Journal of the Senate, 1858, pp. 334, 356, 362, 364-367, 
371, 377, 378; and Laws of Iowa, 1858, pp. 125-152. 

'i^i'! Journal of the Senate, 1858, pp. 296, 318; and Laws of 
Iowa, 1858, pp. 57-88. 

^*s Journal of the Senate, 1858, p. 454; and Laws of Iowa, 
1858, p. 431. It does not appear that any other memorial, as 
referred to, was passed at that session of the General Assembly, 
but a memorial of the previous session may have been the one 
in mind. 

^v-^ Journal of the Senate, 1858, pp. 308-310; and Laws of 
Iowa, 1858, pp. 432-434. 

150 Proceedings of the Pioneer Lawmakers' Association of 
Iowa, 1892, pp. 54, 55. 

151 Proceedings of the Pioneer Lawmakers' Association of 
Iowa, 1892, p. 55, 1898, p. 96; Journal of the Senate, 1858, pp. 



410 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

463, 503, 504; The Tri-weeldy Citizen (Des Moines), March 18, 
1 858 ; Lathrop 's The Life and Times of Samuel J. Kirlcwood, 
pp. 66, 67. 

152 Proceedings of the Pioneer Lawmakers' Association of 
Iowa, 1898, p. 91. 

153 Proceedings of the Pioneer Lawmakers' Association of 
Iowa, 1907, pp. 13, 14. 

CHAPTER XI 

IS* lotva Weekly Eepublican (Iowa City), April 7, August 11, 

1858. 

'i^^^ Annals of Iowa (Third Series), Vol. I, p. 267; and 
Lathrop 's The Life and Times of Samuel J. Kirkwood, p. 62. 

'i!i*i Annals of loiva (Third Series), Vol. V, p. 99; and Consti- 
tution of Iowa, 1857, Article VIII. 

157 The lengthy act establishing the State Bank of Iowa, 
which embodied many of the features of similar laws in Ohio 
and Indiana, may be found in the Laivs of Iowa, 1858, pp. 125- 
152. The best accounts of the history of the State Bank are 
those by Hiram Price and Hoyt Sherman printed, respectively, 
in the Annals of Iowa (Third Series), Vol. I, pp. 266-293, and 
in Vol. V, of the same publication, pp. 93-116. Both Mr. 
Price and Mr. Sherman were members of the Board of Direc- 
tors of the State Bank of Iowa, and they were prominently 
connected with the branch banks at Davenport and Des Moines, 
respectively. In the article by Mr. Sherman are excellent fac- 
similes of the notes issued by the State Bank. 

The Commissioners selected to put the banking plan into 
operation were C. H. Booth, E. H. Harrison, Ezekiel Clark, 
John W. Dutton, William J. Catling, Christian W. Slagle, 
Elihu Baker, William S. Dart, L. W. Babbitt, and Edward T. 
Edginton. At the first meeting, held on July 28, 1858, Ezekiel 
Clark was chosen president of the Board of Commissioners. 
On October 9th the board held its last meeting and control was 
transferred to the Board of Directors. The original record 



NOTES AND REFERENCES 411 

book containing the minutes of the meetings of the Commis- 
sioners and of the Directors of the State Bank of Iowa is in 
the possession of The State Historical Society of Iowa. The 
minutes of the Commissioners cover the first twenty-one pages. 

158 7ou;o WeeTcly Bepublican (Iowa City), August 11, 1858. 
In the same paper appeared a similar notice signed by a differ- 
ent group of persons, but apparently their efforts did not meet 
with success. 

159 7o«-a Weekly Eepublican (Iowa City), September 22, 
1858. The list of the original stockholders of the Iowa City 
Branch is given in this same paper, together with the amount 
of stock purchased by each person. 

160 See original record book containing the minutes of the 
meetings of the Board of Directors, in the possession of The 
State Historical Society of Iowa, pp. 22—85 ; and Iowa Weekly 
Bepublican (Iowa City), November 3, 1858. Mr. Kirkwood 
resigned on August 10, 1859. He again became a member of 
the board on August 10, 1864 (minutes, p. 275), and hence had 
a part not only in organizing the State Bank of Iowa, but also 
in closing up its affairs. 

iGi Annals of loiva (Third Series), Vol. I, p. 292. The last 
regular meeting of the Board of Directors was held on August 
16, 1865, and the State Bank of Iowa gave way to the National 
Banks established according to the Federal law of 1863. 

1^2 Iowa Weekly Bepublican (Iowa City), August 18, 1858. 

i63 7owa Weekly Bepublican (Iowa City), October 20, 1858. 

1G4 7o«;a Weekly Bepublican (Iowa City), December 1, 8, 
1858. 

163 loiva Weekly Bepublican (Iowa City), June 15, 22, 1859; 
and The Iowa Citizen (Des Moines), June 22, 1859. 

166 Zott'O Weekly Bepublican (Iowa City), December 15, 1858, 
March 16, 1859. 

167 From statements made by Mrs. Kirkwood to the writer. 



412 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

CHAPTER XII 

168 Throughout the campaign, both before and after the nom- 
ination, Kirkwood received frequent letters from Grimes offer- 
ing advice and encouragement. 

169 Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 51. 
i'^o Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 53. 

171 Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 57. 

172 Kirkwood Correspondence, Nos. 65, 67. 

'i^T^ Iowa Weekly Bepublican (Iowa City), May 25, 1859. 

m Annals of Iowa (Third Series), Vol. IV, pp. 547, 548; 
and letter from John A. Kasson to Kirkwood, May 17, 1859, in 
Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 81. 

ITS The Iowa Citizen (Des Moines), June 29, 1859; and Iowa 
Weekly Eepuhlican (Iowa City), June 29, 1859. 

176 Letter from James W. Grimes, June 23, 1859. — Kirk- 
wood Correspondence, No. 114. 

177 The Iowa Citizen (Des Moines), June 29, 1859. 

178 See the Amials of Iowa (Third Series), Vol. IX, p. 208. 

179 For the career of Kirkwood 's opponent see Pelzer 's 
Augustus Caesar Bodge. 

180 Quoted from the Oskaloosa Herald in the Iowa State 
Journal (Des Moines), July 9, 1859. 

181 Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 116. 

182 Letter from James Harlan, July 4, 1859. — Kirkwood Cor- 
respondence, No. 130. 

183 Zowa Weekly Bepublican (Iowa City), July 6, 1859. 
i84r/ie Iowa Citizen (Des Moines), July 13, 20, 18-59. 

185 The Iowa Citizen (Des Moines), July 13, 1859. 

186 Quoted from the Davenport Democrat in the Iowa Weekly 
Bepublicaii (Iowa City), July 20, 1859. The writer continued 
by stating that Kirkwood ' ' deceives himself greatly, if he sup- 



NOTES AND REFERENCES 413 

poses that he will make any votes in the civilized part of lowa^ 
by dressing like a scare-crow, or smelling like a cod-fish. ' ' 

18" Iow'« Weekly Bepuilican (Iowa City), July 13, 1859. 

188 The Iowa Citizen (Des Moines), August 10, 1859. 

189 The Iowa Citizen (Des Moines), July 20, 1859; Muscatine 
Daily Journal, July 13, 1859. 

190 Muscatine Daily Journal, July 26, 1859. For lists of 
Kirkwood 's speaking appointments see The Iowa Citizen (Des 
Moines), July 27. August 3, 1859. 

101 ^nnais of Iowa (Third Series), Vol. VIII, p. 201. 

192 For instance, see the Muscatine Daily Journal, July 26, 
1859, and succeeding numbers. 

' ' Wise in council and blest with fine executive capacities, as 
well as skill at the plow, the Cincinnatus of Iowa is soon to 
leave his farm to preside at the helm of State." — Quoted from 
the Dubuque Times in The loiva Citizen (Des Moines), July 27, 
1859. 

i93 7o«-a State Journal (Des Moines), August 20, 1859. 

19* r^e Iowa Citizen (Des Moines), August 10, 1859; Iowa 
Weekly Republican (Iowa City), August 10, 1859. A good 
account of this debate and of the entire campaign is to be 
found in Pelzer 's Augustus Caesar Dodge, Ch. XVIII. 

i»5 Zou'fl State Journal (Des Moines), August 6, 1859. 

I'JQ The Iowa Citizen (Des Moines), August 3, 10, 1859; 
Iowa Weekly Republican (Iowa City), August 10, 1859. 

19' Autobiography of James B. Weaver, manuscript copy in 
possession of The State Historical Society of Iowa. 

198 7o«'a State Journal (Des Moines), August 13, 1859; Iowa 
Weekly Reptiblican (Iowa City), August 17, 24, 1859. 

199 The Iowa Citizen (Des Moines), August 10, 1859. 

200 Many of the appointments previously made for Kirkwood, 
were evidently accepted by Dodge in arranging for the joint 



414 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

debates. For these appointments see The Iowa Citizen (Dea 
Moines), July 27, August 3, 1859. 

201 Quoted from the Winterset Madisonian in the Iowa State 
Journal (Des Moines), August 27, 1859. 

202 Annals of Iowa (Third Series), Vol. IX, p. 225. 

203Garver's Beminiscences of John H. Charles in the Annals 
of Iowa (Third Series), Vol. VIII, p. 427. 

204 The Washington Press, September 7, 1859 ; and clippings 
in Kirkwood Scrap-hooTcs in the possession of The State His- 
torical Society of Iowa, large scrap-book, pp. 25, 45; small 
scrap-book, p. 21. 

205 The Washington Press, September 7, 1859. 

206 For a list of the speaking appointments in eastern Iowa 
see The Iowa Citizen (Des Moines), August 31, 1859. The 
newspapers of the period are full of accounts of these debates. 

207 Clipping in large Kirkwood Scrap-iook, p. 120. 

208 For a list of Kirkwood 's final appointments see The Iowa 
Citizen (Des Moines), August 31, 1859. 

Opposition newspapers continued to assail Kirkwood in the 
most scurrilous manner. ' ' Talk of Sam Kirkwood 's ' brilliant 
oratory!' " exclaimed the Davenport Democrat. "One might 
as well talk of the graceful antics of an overgrown jackass. ' ' 
' ' No words are too vulgar and loathsome to glide smoothly and 
easily through his dirty lips ' ', declared the Oskaloosa Times. 
' ' Inuendoes and double entendres are too inexpressive to per- 
form the task allotted them by this prince of dirty black- 
guards." — Quoted in the Iowa Weekly Bepuhlican (Iowa 
City), September 21, 1859. 

-0^ The Iowa Citizen (Des Moines), September 28, October 
10, 1859. 

210 The Iowa Official Eegister, 1915-1916, p. 542. 



NOTES AND REFERENCES 415 

CHAPTEE XIII 
211 Letter from James W. Grimes to Kirkwood, October 25, 
1859.— An7wls of Iowa (Third Series), Vol. VIII, p. 514. Some 
reasons for Senator Grimes's objection to the county judge 
system may be discovered by reading Crawford's The County 
Judge System in Iowa with Special Reference to its Workings 
in Pottawattamie Coimty in The loica Journal of History and 
Politics, Vol. VIII, pp. 478-521. 

-12 Letter from Frank P. Blair, November 3, 1859. — Kirk- 
wood Correspondence, No. 191. 

213 Letter from James R. Doolittle, November 9, 1859. — 
Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 192. As will be seen, Kirkwood 
did espouse the cause of colonization in his inaugural address. 

214 Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 193. 

215 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1860, p. 51. 

216 Shambaugh's Messages and Proclamations of the Gov- 
ernors of Iowa, Vol. II, pp. 229-247. It would be difficult to 
trace the effects of this address in the legislation of the Eighth 
General Assembly of Iowa. At any rate the Governor's sug- 
gestion relative to the colonization plan was not followed. 

217 27ie loiua Citizen (Des Moines), January 25, 1860; An- 
nals of Iowa (Third Series), Vol. VIII, p. 202. 

2^s Daily Iowa State Journal (Des Moines), January 13, 24, 
February 16, 20, 21, 1860; Shambaugh's Messages and Procla- 
mations of the Governors of Iowa, Vol. II, pp. 247-251. 

It is interesting to note that the member of the Senate whose 
name headed the protest afterwards characterized the inaugural 
address as follows: ''Great questions were before the State 
and country, and they were all discussed with the skill of a 
trained publicist and the intuitions of a far-seeing statesman." 
— Proceedings of the Pioneer Law-Makers' Association of 
Iowa, 1886, p. 24. 

219 Annals of Iowa (3rd Series), Vol. V, p. 311. 
R. E. Graves of Dubuque wrote on January 21, 1860, asking 
Kirkwood for a portrait of himself to be used in making a cut 



416 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

for printing on the certificates of deposit of the Branch of the 
State Bank at Dubuque. — Kirl-wood Correspondence, No. 202. 

CHAPTER XIV 

220 Partisanship was so strong that Governor Kirkwood was 
seldom allowed for long at a time to forget that he had political 
enemies. For instance in January, 1860, a Des Moines editor 
raked up the old campaign attack concerning the appropriations 
needed for the Insane Asylum at Mt. Pleasant. — Daily Iowa 
State Journal (Des Moines), January 30, 1860. 

221 The following account of the Barclay Coppoc ease is based 
on a scholarly monograph on The Bendition of Barclay Coppoc, 
written by Mr. Thomas Teakle, and published in The Iowa 
Journal of History and Politics, Vol. X, pp. 503-566, which 
presents a thorough and detailed discussion of the whole 
affair. 

The documents in the case may be found in Shambaugh's 
Messages and Proclamations of the Governors of Iowa, Vol. II, 
pp. 378, 379, 380-402. See also Jotirnal of the Senate, 1860; 
Journal of the House of Bepresentatives, 1860; and the Daily 
Iowa State Journal (Des Moines), February 29, March 1, 2, 6, 
1860. 

222 Governor Kirkwood 's name was among those signed to a 
request that the Hart family should repeat a concert previously 
given in Des Moines. — Daily Iowa State Begister (Des Moines), 
February 25, 1860. 

223 Letter from Valentine Miller, February 5, 1860. — Kirk- 
wood Correspondence, No. 205. 

224 Letter from Ezekiel Clark, March 6, ISm.— Kirhwood 
Correspondence, No. 211. 

225 Shambaugh 's Messages and Proclamations of the Gov- 
ernors of Iowa, Vol. II, pp. 359-366. 

226 Shambaugh 's Messages and Proclamations of the Gov- 
ernors of Iowa, Vol. II, pp. 371, 376, 377, 380; Laws of Iowa, 
1860, pp. 142, 143. 



NOTES AND REFERENCES 417 

227 loiva Weehly Eepublkan (Iowa City), April 11, 1860. 

228 Letter from James W, Grimes, December 26, 1859. — 
Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 196. 

220 Daily loiva State Register (Des Moines), March 29, 1860. 

230 The relation of Iowa men to the first nomination of 
Abraham Lincoln is well set forth by Professor F. I. Herriott 
in a series of articles in the Annals of Iowa (Third Series), 
Vols. VIII, IX. See also Pelzer's The History of Political 
Parties in Iowa from 1857 to 1860 in The Iowa Journal of 
History and Politics, Vol. VII, pp. 179-229. 

231 Letter from Henry Farnam, April 24, 1860. — Eirlcivood 
Correspondence, No, 223. 

232 See statement in Herriott 's Iowa and the First Nomina- 
tion of Abraham Lincoln in the Annals of Iowa (Third Series), 
Vol. VIII, p. 114. 

233 Quoted in Herriott 's Iowa and the First Nomination of 
Airaham Lincoln in the Annals of Iowa (Third Series), Vol. 
VIII, p. 96. 

234 See Lathrop 's The Life and Times of Samuel J. Kirk- 
wood, p. 87. Professor Herriott says that ' * Saunders and 
Kirkwood were perhaps Iowa's leaders in promoting Lincoln's 
candidacy : One or the other probably taking part in the ' Com- 
mittee of Twelve' whose decision doubtless exercised a potent 
if not decisive influence upon the final result." — Annals of 
lotoa (Third Series), Vol. VIII, p. 114. 

235 For evidences of Kirkwood 's active participation in this 
campaign in Lincoln's behalf see the lotva Weekly Republican 
(Iowa City), May 23, June 27, July 4, August 1, 8, 15, 29, 
October 24, 31, 1860. His correspondence for this period re- 
veals the fact that he received more urgent invitations to speak 
in different parts of the State than he could possibly accept. 

236 Letter from James Harlan, July 30, 1860. — Kirkwood 
Correspondence, No. 256. 

23T The loiva State Register (Des Moines), August 22, 1860. 

28 



418 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

238 /owa WeeTcly Bepublican (Iowa City), September 5, 1860. 

23!) /oit'ffl Weekly Bepublican (Iowa City), October 24, 31, 
1860. 

240 loica Historical Record, Vol. VII, p. 39. 

2ii The Iowa State Register (Des Moines), May 16, 1860. 
A communication from William Penn Clarke of Iowa City, 
objecting to Kirkwood's action in instructing the State Treas- 
urer not to pay interest on the warrants of the Deaf and Dumb 
Asylum, appeared in the Iowa WeeMy Bepublican (Iowa City), 
April 18, 1860. 

242 George G. Wright had already served one term on the 
Supreme Court of Iowa, but in 1859 he declined a renomination. 
He -was reelected in the fall of I860 and served until 1870, when 
he was chosen United States Senator from Iowa. 

243 The Iowa State Register (Des Moines), July 11, 1860. 

244 See the Iowa WeeMy Bepublican (Iowa City), August 29, 
September 5, 1860. 

245 Shambaugh 's Messages and Proclamations of the Gov- 
ernors of Iowa, Vol. II, p. 467. 

246 Iowa Historical Record, Vol. Ill, pp. 429-431. 

2i7 Xirkwood Correspondence, No. 311. 

2i8 Kirkwood Correspondence, Nos. 231, 238, 275, 299; lotva 
WeeMy Bepublican (Iowa City), December 19, 1860. 

CHAPTER XV 

249 Iowa Historical Record, Vol. VII, pp. 39, 40. 

250 Iowa Historical Record, Vol. II, pp. 375-378. 

251 KirTcwood Correspondence, No. 329. Much material rela- 
tive to military affairs in Iowa before the outbreak of the war 
may be found in the Archives at Des Moines, especially in the 
Executive Journal, 1858-1862, and correspondence in a box 
labelled Militia, 1839-1874. 



NOTES AND REFERENCES 419 

252 loioa Historical Becord, Vol. II, pp. 372-375. 
233 loioa Historical Record, Vol. II, pp. 372, 373. 

^^i The War of the Bebellion: Official Records, Series III, 
Vol. I, p. 55. 

255 Iowa Historical Record, Vol. VII, pp. 34-38. This is au 
account of Ms first interview with President Lincoln written by 
Kirkwood himself in 1891. "I was not then (nor am I now) 
much acquainted with the etiquette of calls upon or by Presi- 
dents or Presidents-elect, and I have since thought that he did 
not know much more on that somewhat intricate subject than I 
did or care any more about it. ' ' 

256 KirTcwood Correspondence, No. 330. Alvin Saunders be- 
came Governor of the Territory of Nebraska later in 1861. 

257 KirTcwood Correspondence, No. 351. 

258 KirTcwood Correspondence, No. 354. 

259 7o«;o WeeTcly Republican (Iowa City), March 6, 1861. 

Early in March the Governor received a letter from the Chi- 
cago agent of the Wheeler & Wilson Manufacturing Company, 
saying that he was sending Kirkwood a sewing-machine, with 
the compliments of the company and himself. A machine, he 
said, had also been sent to Abraham Lincoln. — KirTcwood Cor- 
respondence, No. 345. 

260 Byers 's loiva in War Times, p. 28 ; TTie War of the Re- 
hellion: Official Records, Series III, Vol. I, pp. 68, 69. 

261 Lathrop 's The Life and Times of Samuel J. KirTcwood, 
pp. 114, 115; Byers 's Iowa in War Times, p. 28. 

CHAPTER XVI 

262 Lathrop 's Tlie Life and Times of Samuel J. Kirl'wood, 
p. 115. 

263 The Iowa State Register (Des Moines), April 24, 1861. 

264 T/je War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Series III, 
Vol. I, p. 87. Unfortunately Governor Kirkwood was soon to 



420 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

find that, although his statement continued to characterize the 
vast majority of the people of Iowa, there was a troublesome 
minority which did not propose to live up to his description. 

265 Shambaugh 's Messages and Proclamations of the Gov- 
ernors of Iowa, Vol. II, pp. 468, 469. 

266 Shambaugh 's Messages and Proclamations of the Gov- 
ernors of Iowa, Vol. II, pp. 469, 470. 

267 Letter to Secretary Cameron, April 16, 1861. — The War 
of the Eebellion: Official Becords, Series III, Vol. I, pp. 74, 75. 

The requisition from the Secretary of War stated that the 
Iowa regiment should be in rendezvous at Keokuk by May 20th. 
A large number of telegrams and letters from the War Depart- 
ment to Governor Kirkwood, containing instructions concerning 
the raising, mobilizing, and mustering of the Iowa troops at the 
beginning of the War may be found in The War of the Eebel- 
lion: Official Records, Series III, Vol. I. 

For discussions of Governor Kirkwood 's activities in connec- 
tion with the raising of the first regiments see Lathrop's The 
Life and Times of Samuel J. Kirhioood, pp. 116-120; and 
Byers's Iowa in War Times, Ch. III. Much material may be 
found in the Executive Journal, 1858-1S62, p. 350 ff. Archives, 
Des Moines, 

268 Letter to Captain W. S. Eobertson of Columbus City, 
Iowa, April 24, 1861. — Kirkwood Military Letter Booh, No. 1, 
p. 7, in the possession of The State Historical Society of Iowa 
at Iowa City. 

269 Letter to John W. Eankin of Keokuk, April 25, 1861.— 
EirTcwood Military Letter Bool-, No. 1, pp. 25-27. 

270 Letter to J. W. Eankin of Keokuk, April 26, 1861.— 
Kirkwood Military Letter Bool', No. 1, pp. 33, 34. 

271 Letter to James B. Howell of Keokuk, April 30, 1861.— 
Kirkwood Military Letter Book, No. 1, pp. 47-55. This long 
and earnest letter, like many others of a similar character, in 
the Governor's own handwriting, offers proof of his desire to be 
just and fair in all his actions. 



NOTES AND REFERENCES 421 

272 For brief discussions of the services of various men in 
offering financial aid to the State at the outbreak of the war 
see the Annals of Iowa (Third Series), Vol. I, pp. 594, 595; 
Lathrop's The Life and Times of Samuel J. Kirkwood, pp. 118, 
119, 127; Byers's Iowa in War Times, pp. 42, 43. Letters 
dealing with the financial problems at the outbreak of the war 
may be found in the Executive Journal, 1858-1863, Archives, 
Des Moines. 

2T3 KirTcivood Military Letter Boole, No. 1, p. 194. 

'2-nThe War of the EebelUon: Official Becords, Series III, 
Vol. I, pp. 127, 128. 

275 This letter was printed in The Iowa State Begister (Des 
Moines), May 15, 1861, no doubt for the purpose of answering 
the criticisms of Governor Kirkwood because of his failure to 
secure arms for the Iowa troops. The Governor's Military 
Letter Boole for this period contains scores of patient letters 
written by him in response both to honest inquiries and ma- 
licious complaints. 

276 Eirlcivood Military Letter Boole, No. 1, p. 142. 

277 Shambaugh 's Messages and Proclamations of the Gov- 
ernors of loiva, Vol. II, pp. 470, 471. 

278 Journal of the House of Bepresentatives (Extra Session), 
1861, pp. 3, 4. 

279 Shambaugh 's Messages and Proclamations of the Gov- 
ernors of Iowa, Vol. II, pp. 252-263, 

280 Journal of the House of Bepresentatives (Extra Session), 
1861, p. 15. 

281 For the laws enacted at this session see Laws of Iowa 
(Extra Session), 1861. 

282 For special messages of the Governor in reply to requests 
for information concerning the raising and equipping of troops, 
the dangers of the invasion of Iowa, and other subjects see 
Shambaugh 's Messages and Proclamations of the Governors of 
loxoa, Vol. II, pp. 404-425. 



422 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

CHAPTER XVII 

283 Kirlwood Correspondence, No. 367, Historical Depart- 
ment, Des Moines. 

284 Letter from W. H. Kinsman, May 29, 18Q1.— Kirlwood 
Correspondence, No. 369. 

2S5 The loica State Eegister (Des Moines), June 5, 1861. 

286 Letter from Le Roy G. Palmer of Mt. Pleasant, July 15, 
1861. — Eirluood Correspondence, No. 377. 

287 Fairall 's Manual of Iowa Politics, Vol. I, Part I, pp. 57, 
58. For a brief account of this convention see Olynthus B. 
Clark's monograph on The Politics of Iowa During the Civil 
War and Eeconstruction, pp. 116-119. 

2S8 The lotca State Eegister (Des Moines), August 7, 1861. 
The ballots were as follows: 

Informal lallot: Kirkwood, 2721/2; Elijah Sells, 29; F. H. 
Warren, 29; S. A. Rice, 121/0; S. F. Miller, 31. 

Formal ballot: Kirkwood, 3101/4; Sells, 12; Warren, 321/^; 
Miller, 19. 

John R. Needham was nominated for Lieutenant Governor. 

For a brief discussion of an estrangement which arose be- 
i^^tween Kirkwood and Elijah Sells, see the Annals of Iowa 
■' '(Third Series), Vol. II, pp. 525-527. 

289 KirJcwood Correspondence, No. 3'85. H. M. Hoxie offered 
his services to the Governor in a letter received about the same 
time. 

290 KirJcivood Correspondence, No. 387. 

291 Kirkvjood Correspondence, No. 392. 

292 For an account of the Union party movement in Iowa see 
Clark's The Politics of Iowa During the Civil War and Ee- 
construction, pp. 111-114, 119-121, 123-133. Evidence of 
Reuben Noble's loyalty to Governor Kirkwood is to be found 
in a footnote on p. 129. 

293 The activities of the Democrats during this campaign are 



NOTES AND REFERENCES 423 

well discussed in Clark's The Politics of lotca During the Civil 
War and Eeconstruction, Ch. V. 

294 The Sherman Hall speech is printed in full in The Iowa 
State Begister (Des Moines), September 11, 1861. 

295 In a long letter to Samuel F. Miller of Keokuk on June 
26, 1861, Kirkwood made a very clear statement of his financial 
difficulties. — Kirkwood Military Letter Booh, No. 1, pp. 271, 
272. 

290 For a further discussion of the difficulties encountered in 
the sale of the State bonds see below, pp. 207-210. 

297 The returns of this election have been variously reported. 
The Iowa Official Begister, 1915-1916, p. 542, gives Kirkwood 
60,303, and Merritt 43,245. Fairall's Manual of Iowa Politics, 
Vol. I, Part I, p. 60, gives Kirkwood 59,853, and Merritt 
43,245. The official canvass by the legislature as recorded in 
the Journal of the House of Bepresentatives, 1862, p. 38, credits 
Kirkwood with 60,252, and Merritt with only 40,187. Lathrop 
in The Life and Times of Samuel J. Kirkwood, p. 142, places 
Kirkwood 's plurality at 16,600. Fairall's figures, however, 
agree with the statistics as found in the archives in Des Moines 
by Professor Olynthus B. Clark and recorded in The Politics of 
Iowa During the Civil War and Beconstruction, p. 133. 

CHAPTER XVIII 

298 Kirktvood Correspondence, No. 433. See also No. 438, 
for a similar complaint. 

299 Among the offers of aid from outside the State was that 
of Solomon Sturges of Chicago, who expressed his willingness 
to advance $100,000. See the loiva City Bepublican, November 
2, 1864. 

Although Kirkwood had no authority to accept the offer 
made by Mr. Sturges, he wrote on June 20, 1861, as follows: 
' ' Accept my very hearty thanks for your kind offer of aid to 
me in preparing the troops of this State for service in antici- 
pation of the sale of our State Bonds. When wealth & the will 



424 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

to use wealth wisely & well unite, the wealthy become as iu 
your case public benefactors. ' ' — Kirkwood Military Letter 
Boole, No. 1, p. 264. 

300 Eirl'icood Military Letter Booh, No. 1, pp. 271, 272. 
For a public report of the agents appointed to take charge 

of the sale of bonds see Shambaugh's Messages and Proclama- 
tions of the Governors of Iowa, Vol. II, pp. 474^476. 

301 Letter from N. H. Brainerd to Captain M. V. McKinney 
of Des Moines, September 3, 1861. — Kirkwood Military Letter 
Book, No. 1, p. 299. Later letters (pp. 413-415) indicate that 
an attempt had been made to purchase arms by the use of 
State bonds. 

302 Letter from N. H. Brainerd to Samuel Merrill, September 
12, 1861.— Kirkwood Military Letter Book, No. 1, p. 341. The 
extent of the Governor 's personal debt, amounting to thousands 
of dollars, is indicated in another letter on p. 369. 

303 Eeport of the Auditor of State, 1861, p. 14. 

304 Shanibaugh 's Messages and Proclamations of the Gov- 
ernors of Iowa, Vol. II, pp. 476-482. ' ' There is not a man 
or woman in Iowa," he said at the close of one of these ap- 
peals, ' ' who would not blush if we had to seek men outside of 
our State to fill the ranks of our regiments. Shall it be said 
we had to go outside of our State for means to equip and pay 
them?" 

305 See Shambaugh 's Messages and Proclamations of the Gov- 
ernors of Iowa, Vol. II, p. 450. 

306 See above pp. 202-204. 

307 for instance see Byers 's Iowa in War Times, pp. 52, 53. 

308 Eeport of the Auditor of State, 1861, p. 14. 

309 For a biographical sketch of Nathan Hoit Brainerd see 
the Iowa Historical Record, Vol. XVIII, pp. 401-406. 

310 The list of aids here given is the list published in Tive 
Iowa State Register (Des Moines), July 3, 1861. 



NOTES AND REFERENCES 425 

siiByers's loiva in War Times, p. 56. In a letter of July 
24, 1861, Kirkwood thanked Bowen for his services, and said 
he had intended to appoint Thomas McKean of Marion as his 
successor. But McKean had become Paymaster in the United 
States Army. — Executive Journal, 1858-1862, p. 476, Archives, 
Des Moines. 

312 A brief biography of Nathaniel B. Baker, written by 
B. F. Gue, is to be found in the Annals of Iowa (Third Series), 
Vol. I, pp. 81-99. 

313 Letter from N. H. Brainerd to John G. "Weeks of Des 
Moines, September 10, 1861. — Kirkwood Military Letter Boole, 
No. 1, p. 327. 

314 Letter from N. H. Brainerd to Levi Fuller of West 
Union, September 10, 1861. — Kirkwood Military Letter Book, 
No. 1, p. 335. 

315 Letter to C. Nash of Mt. Pleasant, December 14, 1861. — 
Kirkwood Military Letter Book, No. 3, pp. 20-23. 

316 Letter to Dr. James D. Gray of Talleyrand, April 2, 1862. 

— Kirkwood Military Letter Book, No. 3, pp. 267, 268. 

317 Letter to John Edwards of Chariton, December 18, 1861. 

— Kirkwood Military Letter Book, No. 3, p. 25. For later 
letters dealing with the same point see pp. 28, 86-90, 143-146. 

318 Shambaugh 's Messages and Proclamations of the Gov- 
ernors of Iowa, Vol. II, pp. 471-473. 

319 Shambaugh 's Messages and Proclamations of the Gov- 
ernors of Iowa, Vol. II, pp. 482, 483. 

320 Letter to Col. John W. Eankin, December 23, 1861.— 
Kirkwood Military Letter Book, No. 3, p. 47. 

321 The War of the Eehellion: Official Becords, Series III, 
Vol. I, pp. 311, 325. 

322 Shambaugh 's Messages and Proclamations of the Gov- 
ernors of Iowa, Vol. II, p. 485. 

On September 16, 1861, James W. Grimes wrote a letter to 



426 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

the Secretary of War saying that Iowa then had twelve regi- 
ments in the field, "a larger number than any other State in 
proportion to her population." Four thousand more men 
could be raised at once if provision could be made for their 
families. — The War of the Behellion : Official Mecords, Series 
III, Vol. I, p. 521. 

323 This letter, copies of which were doubtless sent to all the 
loyal Governors, is to be found in the KirJavood Correspondence, 
No. 424. 

324 Kirlcwood Military Letter Bool, No. 3, p. 85. 



CHAPTER XIX 

325 Shambaugh 's Messages and Proclamations of the Gov- 
ernors of Iowa, Vol. II, pp. 264-295. 

It was no doubt the insistence in this message on the prompt 
payment of taxes which elicited the following sarcastic letter 
from the treasurer of Johnson County, who either did not 
realize Kirkwood's personal financial embarrassment or was 
disposed to heckle him : 

' ' Permit me to say a word about your delinquent taxes in 
this County. Mr. Sperry sold a portion of it [Kirkwood's 
property] last fall for the Taxes, and now there are plenty of 
purchasers for the balance. They consider a good JoJce on you 
to urge in your inaugural the prompt payment of taxes, and at 
the same time leave your own unpaid, no doubt but in the vast 
amount of your duties you have forgotten it, or supposed they 
were paid." — Kirlcwood Correspondence, No. 459. 

326 Shambaugh 's Messages and Proclamations of the Gov- 
ernors of Iowa, Vol. II, pp. 275-281. 

327 Shambaugh 's Messages and Proclamations of the Gov- 
ernors of loica, Vol. II, p. 282. 

328 Shambaugh 's Messages and Proclamations of the Gov- 
ernors of Iowa, Vol. II, pp. 294, 295. 

329 Journal of the House of Eepresentatives, 1862, pp. 39, 40. 



NOTES AND REFERENCES 427 

330 Shambaugh 's Messages and Proclamations of the Gov- 
ernors of loiva, Vol. II, pp. 296-310. 

331 Letter from George B. Corkhill, January 29, 1862.— 
Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 447. 

332 Letter from Chas. Geo. Allhusen, Kiel, Denmark, March 6, 
1862. — Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 469. 

333 For a discussion of Kirkwood 's personal attitude toward 
the administration and the prosecution of the war, see below, 
pp. 292-296. 

334 This brief account of the celebration at the news of the 
capture of Fort Donelson is taken from an article by Charles 
Aldrieh in the Iowa Historicul Record, Vol. VIII, pp. 215-221. 

335 Kirkwood Military Letter Book, No. 3, pp. 159, 165, 223, 
224. See also the loica Historical Record, Vol. VIII, pp. 222- 

228. 

336 Kirkwood Military Letter Book, No. 3, pp. 220-222. 
Governor Kirkwood 's zeal to protect the good name of the 

Iowa troops is further illustrated by a letter written on April 3, 
1862, to Governor Washburne of Maine. In this letter he pro- 
tested against the implied reflection on the valor of the Iowa 
soldiers in the assault on Fort Donelson, contained in a reso- 
lution of the legislature of Maine praising the western troops 
for their bravery in that battle.— Pp. 269-271. 

CHAPTER XX 

337 A monograph on the enlistment of soldiers in Iowa during 
the Civil War prepared by Dr. John E. Briggs appears in The 
Iowa Journal of History and Politics, Vol. XV, pp. 323-392. 
No attempt has been made in this volume to present an ade- 
quate treatment of the subject. 

338 For data relative to the various calls for troops and the 
quotas of the different States, see Phisterer's Statistical Record 
of the Armies of the United States, pp. 3-11. 

S39 The War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Series III, 
Vol. II, p. 206. 



428 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

310 Eirkwood Military Letter Book, No. 2, p. 325. 

341 The War of the Eehellion: Official Records, Series III, 
Vol. II, pp. 399, 416. 

342 The War of the Eehellion : Official Records, Series III, 
Vol. II, p. 417. 

si3 Eirkwood Military Letter Book, No. 2, pp. 328, 329. 

344 Eirkwood 's Military Letter Book, No. 2, pp. 473, 474. 

345 Shambaugh 's Messages and Proclamations of the Gov- 
ernors of Iowa, Vol. II, pp. 499-501. 

346 Shambaugh 's Messages and Proclamations of the Gov- 
ernors of Iowa, Vol. II, pp. 504, 505. 

As late as November 20, 1862, there was still difficulty in 
filling up the old regiments. ' ' Officers here recruiting for the 
Eegular Army are enlisting men recruited by me for the old 
regiments", was Kirkwood's protest on that day to Secretary 
Stanton. "If this is not stopped I will cease all efforts. I 
protest, too, most earnestly against enlisting men from our 
regiments into the regular service. I will not endeavor to fill 
up vacancies thus created." — The War of the Rebellion: Of- 
ficial Records, Series III, Vol. II, p. 845. 

347 For correspondence on the subject of the draft in Iowa 
see The War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Series III, Vol. 
II, pp. 254, 291, 317, 339, 383, 440, 442, 464, 471, 485, 486, 491, 
513, 843, 844, Vol. Ill, pp. 62, 63, 193, 520, 521, 576, 637, 638, 
865, 904. See also Brainerd's Iowa and the Draft in the Iowa 
Historical Record, Vol. IV, pp. 65-67. 

348 Letter to Lieutenant-Colonel Addison H. Saunders, May 
21, 1%Q2.— Eirkwood Military Letter Book, No. 2, p. 171. 

349 Shambaugh 's Messages and Proclamations of the Gov- 
ernors of Iowa, Vol. II, pp. 502-504. 

350 Shambaugh 's Messages and Proclamations of the Gov- 
ernors of Iowa, Vol. II, pp. 311-318. 

351 Letter to Lieutenant-Colonel Harvey Graham, December 6, 
1862. — Eirkwood Military Letter Book, No. 4, p. 340. 



NOTES AND REFERENCES 429 

352 Letter to Mr. Truesdell, November 13, 1862. — Kirkwood 
Military Letter Boole, No. 4, p. 175. 

353 Letter to M. B. Cochran, January 5, 1863. — Kirkwood 
Military Letter Book, No. 4, p. 417. 

354 Kirkwood Military Letter Book, No. 6, pp. 55-57. 

355 Kirkwood Military Letter Book, No. 6, p. 70. See also 
pp. 72, 73, 241. 

356 Kirkwood Military Letter Book, No. 6, pp. 491-495, No. 
7, pp. 134-139. 

3^'^ Iowa City Eepuhlican, June 24, 1863. See also Byers's 
Iowa in War Times, p. 231. 

3ZS The War of the Eehellion : Official Eecords, Series II, 
Vol. IV, pp. 250, 251. 

3^,0 The War of the Eehellion: Official Eecords, Series II, 
Vol. IV, pp. 257, 285. 

3C0 The War of the Eehellion: Official Eecords, Series II, 
Vol. IV, p. 631. 

3G1 The War of the Eehellion: Official Eecords, Series II, 
Vol. IV, p. 718. For further correspondence relative to the 
exchange of prisoners see pp. 131-133, 295-299, 474, 598, 638, 
639, 649, 650, 672, 689, 713. 

302 Kirkwood Military Letter Book, No. 3, pp. 1-3. 

363 Kirkwood Military Letter Book, No. 3, p. 240. 

364 Kirkwood Military Letter Book, No. 6, p. 37. 

363 Letter from Colonel Nicholas Perczel, August 1, 1862. — 
Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 535. 

366 Letter to Colonel Nicholas Perczel, August 11, 1862. — 
Kirkwood Military Letter Book, No. 2, p. 527. 

367 Letter to Captain S. M. Archer, November 6, 1862. — 
Kirkwood Military Letter Book, No. 4, pp. 154, 155. 

368 Letter to Colonel William Vandever, October 31, 1862. — 
Kirkwood Military Letter Book, No. 4, pp. 96-98. 



430 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

369 Kirlcwood Military Letter Boole, No. 2, p. 173. 

370 Kirlcwood Military Letter Booli, No. 4, pp. 124, 125. 

371 Kirlcivood Military Letter Boole, No. 4, p. 212. 

3T2 Kirlcivood Military Letter Boole, No. 2, pp. 573, 574. 

373 Kirlcivood Military Letter Boole, No. 6, p. 46. 

CHAPTER XXI 

374 The account of the Altoona conference of loyal Governors 
here presented is based on a narrative by Kirkwood himself, 
printed in the Iowa Historical Record, Vol. VIII, pp. 210-214. 
The quotations, except where otherwise indicated, are taken 
from this source. 

For further material on the conference see the New Yorlc 
Weekly Tribune, September 27, October 4, 11, 1862; Pearson's 
The Life of John A. Andrew, Vol. II, pp. 48-53, 56-58; Nicolay 
and Hay's Abraham Lincoln: A History, Vol. VI, pp. 164^167; 
McClure's Abraham Lincoln and Men of War Times, pp. 249- 
251. 

375 Quoted from the New York Tribune in the loica City Be- 
'publican, October 29, 1862. 

CHAPTER XXII 

376 Letter to Jesse Evans of Bedford, April 30, 1861.— 
Kirkwood Military Letter Book, No. 1, pp. 44, 45. 

The Governor's suggestion at this time and his orders later 
were followed, and ' ' home guard ' ' companies were organized 
in most of the counties of southern Iowa. For instance see 
Bryant's A War Time Militia Company in The Iowa Journal of 
History and Politics, Vol. X, pp. 403-414. 

377 Letter to Richard Chamberlain of Clarence, Missouri. 
May 10, 1861. — Kirkwood Military Letter Book, No. 1, p. 150. 

378 iShambaugh 's Messages and Proclamations of the Gov- 
ernors of Iowa, Vol. II, pp. 277, 278. 



NOTES AND REFERENCES 431 

3"9 The War of the Rebellion : Official Records, Series I, Vol. 
Ill, p. 413. See also Bussey's The Battle of Athens, Missouri 
in the Annals of Iowa (Third Series), Vol. V, pp. 81-92; 
and Shambaugh 's Messages and Proclamations of the Gov- 
ernors of loiva, Vol. II, p. 278. 

380 The War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Series III, 
Vol. I, p. 560. 

381 The War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Series III, 
Vol. I, pp. 561, 562. 

352 For an account of one of these raids see The Iowa Jour- 
nal of History and Politics, Vol. X, pp. 411-414. 

353 Kirlncood Military Letter Bool', No. 6, pp. 217, 218. 

384 The War of the Rebellion : Official Records, Series III, 
Vol. I, pp. 57, 86. 

385 The War of the Rebellion : Official Records, Series III, 
Vol. I, pp. 127, 162. 

386 The War of the Rebellion : Official Records, Series III, 
Vol. I, pp. 185, 186. 

387 Shambaugh 's Messages and Proclamations of the Gov- 
ernors of Iowa, Vol. II, pp. 278, 279. 

388 For an account of the situation see Ingham 's The Iowa 
Northern Border Brigade of 1862-3 in the Annals of Iowa 
(Third Series), Vol. V, pp. 481-523. 

^so Annals of Iowa (Third Series), Vol. V, p. 490. 

5^0 Annals of Iowa (Third Series), Vol. V, pp. 494, 495. 

391 The War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. 
XIII, p. 620. 

392 Van der Zee's Forts in the Iowa, Country in The Iowa 
Journal of Histmy and Politics, Vol. XII, pp. 199-202. 

393 Shambaugh 's Messages and Proclamations of the Gov- 
ernors of Iowa, Vol. II, pp. 346, 347. 



432 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

CHAPTER XXIII 

394 Letter from J. M. Shaffer of Fairfield, August 11, 1862.— 
Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 545. 

393 Letter to James W. Grimes, November 25, 1862. — KirTc- 
ivood Military Letter Book, No. 4, pp. 299, 300. For letters 
from D. A. Mahoney to Kirkwood concerning the former 's ar- 
rest see Eirlcwood Correspondence, Nos. 547, 548; and the 
State Press (Iowa City), December 13, 1862. 

A large number of letters relative to disloyalty in Iowa dur- 
ing the Civil War are to be found in the Archives at Des 
Moines, especially in the Correspondence of the Governor and 
in the box labeled War Matters, 1868-1888. 

396 See charge against Kirkwood and editorial from the Keo- 
Iculc Gate City in the State Press (Iowa City), December 13, 
1862. 

307 Letter to G. W. Devin of Ottumwa, February 16, 1863.— 
Kirkwood Military Letter Book, No. 5, p. 110. 

395 Letter to Captain J. H. Summers of Decatur City, March 
2, 1863. — Eirkivood Military Letter Book, No. 6, pp. 38, 39. 

309 Kirk^vood Military Letter Book, No. 6, p. 77. 

400 Letter to Secretary Stanton, March 10, 1863. — Kirkwood 
Military Letter Book, No. 6, p. 111. 

401 Letter to R. A. Richardson of Fayette County, March 11, 
1863. — Kirkwood Military Letter Book, No. 6, p. 114. 

*02 The War of the Bebellion: Offtciul Becords, Series III, 
Vol. Ill, pp. 66-68. 

403 Shambaugh 's Messages and Proclamations of the Gov- 
ernors of loiva. Vol. II, pp. 511-514. 

*oi The War of the Rebellion: Official Becords, Series III, 
Vol. Ill, pp. 66-72. 

405 Letter to L. B. Fleak of Brighton, March 9, 1863.— 
Kirkwood Military Letter Book, No. 6, p. 96. 

406 Letter to Captain J. H. Summers of Decatur City, March 
2, 1863.— Kirkivood Military Letter Book, No. 6, pp. 38, 39. 



NOTES AND REFERENCES 433 

407 Letter to Nathan Udell, April 22, 1863. — EirJcwood Mili- 
tary Letter Boole, No. 6, pp. 366, 367. 

408 The War of the Bebellion : Official Eecords, Series III, 
Vol. Ill, p. 67. 

409 See The loiva Journal of History and Politics, Vol. X, pp. 
209-216. 

410 There are many accounts of "The Tally "War", but the 
facts here presented, except when otherwise indicated, are 
taken chiefly from the loiva City Eepublican, August 5 and 12, 
1863; and Lathrop's The Life and Times of Samuel J. Kirk- 
wood, pp. 244-252. See also The Annals of Iowa (Third Se- 
ries), Vol. IX, pp. 142-145. 

411 Report of the Adjutant General (Iowa), 1863-1864, p. 687. 

*i^ Eeport of the Adjutant General (Iowa), 1863-1864, pp. 
689, 690. 

i^sBeport of the Adjutant General (Iowa), 1863-1864, p. 688. 

414 Lathrop's The Life and Times of Samuel J. Kirkwood, 
p. 250. 

415 Letter from N. P. Chipman, May 18, 1865. — Kirkwood 
Correspondence, No. 975. 

i^G State Press (Iowa City), April 25, 1863. 

417 State Press (Iowa City), April 25, 1863. This charge was 
indignantly branded as a "hell-born lie" by the editor of the 
Iowa City Bepuhlican on May 6th. 

418 Letter from J. M. Hiatt, April 5, 1863.— Kirkwood Cor- 
respondence, No. 702. 

419 Letter to J. M. Hiatt, April 11, 1863. — Kirkwood Mili- 
tary Letter Book, No. 6, p. 310. 

420 Letter from J. G. Detwiler, July 6, 186S.— Kirkwood 
Correspondence, No. 766. 

421 The facts of this episode and the quotations are taken 
from the account written by Charles Negus which is to be found 

29 



434 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

in Lathrop's The Life and Times of Samuel J. Kirkwood, pp. 
249-251. 



CHAPTER XXIV 

422 Letter to Eliphalet Price of Guttenberg, March 13, 1863. 

— Eirlwood Military Letter Book, No. 6, pp. 141, 142. For 
the correspondence between Kirkwood and the Iowa delegation 
at Washington in December, 1862, and January, 1863, see 
Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 580; and Kirkwood Military 
Letter Book, No. 4, p. 437. 

423 Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 684. 

424 Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 682. 

425 Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 686. 

420 Kirkwood Military Letter Book, No. 6, pp. 288, 289. 

427 Kirkwood Military Letter Book, No. 6, pp. 248, 249 ; 
Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 701. 

428 Kirkivood Military Letter Book, No. 6, pp. 326-328. 

429 Kirkivood Correspondence, No. 722. Bradford R. Wood, 
then Minister to Denmark, wrote that he would be willing to 
remain at Copenhagen until March, 1864, if necessary to meet 
Kirkwood 's wishes. — Kirkwood Correspondence, Nos. 709, 743. 

430 See letter from Grimes, January 30, 1864.— Kirkwood 
Correspondence, No. 931. 

431 State Press (Iowa City), April 18, 1863. 

432 For instance see letter to Grimes, April 22, 1863. — Kirk- 
wood Military Letter Book, No. 6, pp. 373, 374. 

433 Letter to S. Guthrie of Washington, D. C, April 11, 1863. 

— Kirkwood Military Letter Book, No. 6, p. 312. See also No. 
7, pp. 26, 27. 

434 Kirkwood Military Letter Book, No. 7, pp. 100, 101. 

435 Kirkwood Military Letter Book, No. 7, p. 219. 

436 Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 931. 



NOTES AND REFERENCES 435 

437 Kirlcwood Military Letter Boole, No. 6, p. 289. 

438 loica City Bepublican, July 1, 1863. 

439 Kirlcwood Military Letter Book, No. 7, p. 65. 

4*0 Quoted in Lathrop 's The Life and Times of Samuel J. 
Eirkwood, pp. 265, 266; Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 810. 

441 See, for instance, a speech made at West Union in Fayette 
County, which is quoted in Lathrop 's The Life and Times of 
Samuel J. Eirkwood, pp. 252-264. 

442 See the loiva City Republican, September 23, 1863. 

443 Letter to Dr. Fred Lloyd, September 22, 1863.— Eirk- 
wood Military Letter Book, No. 7, p. 262. 

44 4 Eirkwood Correspondence, No. 830. 

445 See letter to "William M. Stone, October 20, 1863.— Kirk- 
icood Military Letter Book, No. 7, p. 348. See also the Iowa 
City Bepublican, December 30, 1863. 

446 Shambaugh 's Messages and Proclamations of the Gov- 
ernors of Iowa, Vol. II, pp. 319-358. 

447 Iowa City Bepublican, January 20, 1864. 

448 Eirkwood Correspondence, No. 839. 

CHAPTER XXV 

449 Letter to Dr. C. S. Clarke of Fairfield, March 9, 1862.— 
Eirkwood Military Letter Book, No. 3, p. 179. 

450 Eirkioood Military Letter Book, No. 4, pp. 190, 192. 

451 Eirkwood Military Letter Book, No. 2, p. 486. 

452 Letter to Mrs. Harriett N. Kellogg of Garden Grove, 
March 28, 1863. — Eirkwood Military Letter Book, No. 6, pp. 
239, 240. 

453 Eirkwood Military Letter Book, No. 6, pp. 86-89. 

^^^ Eirkwood Military Letter Book, No. 6, pp. 207-210. See 
also pp. 229-234. 



436 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

4."ir, Kirlwood Military Letter Boole, No. 2, p. 151. See also 
pp. 214, 215. 

45G Lathrop 's The Life and Times of Samuel J. Kirlcwood, 
pp. 283-286; Iowa City Republican, February 4, 1863, and suc- 
ceeding issues. 

437 Letter to W. C. Kirkwood, March 23, lS<o^.— Kirlcwood 
Military Letter Book, No. 6, p. 209. 

458 Mrs. Kirkwood gave the author the facts upon which this 
brief characterization of the Governor's personal life during 
the war is based. 

459 Iowa City Bepublican, January 21, 1863. See also the 
same paper for December 9, 1863. Mrs. Kirkwood confirmed 
these accounts of the difficulties of travel from Iowa City to 
Des Moines. 

460 A glance through the seven large military letter books, to 
say nothing of the mass of papers in the Archives at Des 
Moines, will give some idea of the amount of writing which the 
Governor performed during these strenuous years. 

461 Kirlcwood Military Letter Boole, No. 6, p. 98. 

4C2 Letter to Laurin Dewey, July 7, 1863. — Kirlcwood Mili- 
tary Letter Book, No. 7, p. 31. 

463 Kirlcwood Military Letter Book, No. 7, p. 383. 

CHAPTER XXVI 

464 The facts concerning the building of the house were re- 
lated to the writer by Mrs. Kirkwood, who stated that she was 
never quite contented until they moved into this home of their 
own. There she still lives to-day. The street which runs in 
front of the house is known as Kirkwood Avenue. 

465 The card of this law firm first appeared in the loiva City 
Republican, May 17, 1865. 

406 loiva City Republican, March 23, 30, 1864. 

407 loica City Republican, February 17, May 18, August 31, 
1864. 



NOTES AND REFERENCES 437 

468 Eirlcwood Correspondence, No. 949. 

469 Iowa City Bepublican, September 14, October 12, 19, 26, 
1864. A copy of this oration, in pamphlet form, is in the 
library of The State Historical Society of Iowa. 

4"o See letter from Jacob Eich, June 27, 1864. — Kirkwood 
Correspondence, No. 945. 

471 For a more extended account of the senatorial contest of 
1865-1866 than is given in these pages see Clark's History of 
Senatorial Elections in Iowa, Ch. VIII. See also Brigham's 
James Harlan, Ch. XX. 

472 Letter from Jacob Eich, March 12, 1865. — Kirkwood Cor- 
respondence, No. 958. 

473 Aldrich 's The Life and Times of Azro B. F. Hildreth, pp. 
393-395. 

474 Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 960. 

475 Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 979. 

476 Letters from Marcellus M. Crocker, June 9 and 23, 1865. 
— Kirkwood Correspondence, Nos. 981, 986. 

477 Correspondence of William Penn Clarke, Vol. Ill, No. 
127, Historical Department, Des Moines. 

478 Letter from Azro B. F. Hildreth, April 1, 1^0,5.— Kirk- 
wood Correspondence, No. 961. 

479 Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 963. 

480 Kirkwood Correspondence, Nos. 987, 990, 1059. 

481 Kirkiuood Correspondence, No. 1019. 

482 Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 1024. Grimes was even 
more emphatic in other letters. The relations between Grimes 
and Kirkwood on the one hand, and Harlan on the other, were 
never quite friendly after this time. 

For a letter from Harlan to Kirkwood in July, 1865, prac- 
tically promising his support to Kirkwood, see Kirkwood Cor- 
respondence, No. 995. 



438 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

483 Kirtwood Correspondence, No. 1031. 

484 Kirhwood Correspondence, Nos. 1106, 1109, 1114. 

485 The Weekly Gate City (Keokuk), January 9, 1866. 

486 Iowa City Bepublican, January 17, 1866. 

487 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1866, pp. 64—66. 

488 Congressional Directory, 1st Session, 39th Congress, pp. 
49, 68. 

489 Congressional Gloie, 1st Session, 39tli Congress, pp. 332, 
390. 

400 Congressional Globe, 1st Session, 39th Congress, p. 767. 

491 Congressional Globe, 1st Session, 39th Congress, p. 2735. 

492 See Congressional Globe, 1st Session, 39th Congress, pp. 
3256, 3264, 3265, 3479, 3480. 

403 Congressional Globe, 1st Session, 39th Congress, p. 3312. 

494 Kirhwood Correspondence, Nos. 1177, 1199. 

495 Kirlcioood Correspondence, No. 1293. 

496 Congressional Directory, 2nd Session, 39th Congress, p. 77. 
The truth of these statements was confirmed by Mrs. Kirkwood. 

497 See Congressional Globe, 2nd Session, 39th Congress, pp. 
198, 220, 334. 

498 See Congressional Globe, 2nd Session, 39th Congress, pp. 
1820-1823, 1828. 

499 See Congressional Globe, 2nd Session, 39th Congress, pp. 
703, 873, 1927. 

500 Congressional Globe, 2nd Session, 39th Congress, p. 198. 

501 KirJcwood Correspondence, Nos. 1339, 1345. 

CHAPTER XXVII 

502 Iowa City Bepublican, September 25, 1867, September 30, 
October 28, November 4, 1868. 



NOTES AND REFERENCES 439 

503 7oM'a City EepubUcan, March 11, 18, 1868. 

504 History of Johnson County, Iowa (1883), p. 422. 

505 Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 1437. 

506 Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 1446. Mr. Kirkwood was 
also a delegate to a similar convention at Cincinnati one year 
later. See Clark's The Bid of the West for the National Cap- 
ital in the Proceedings of the Mississippi Valley Historical As- 
sociation, Vol. Ill, pp. 235, 270. 

507 Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 1430. 

508 Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 1432. 

509 Kirkwood Correspondence, Nos. 1441, 1445. 

510 Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 2035. This letter was 
written on July 7, 1876. 

511 Iowa City Eepuhlican, January 26, 1870. In the spring 
of 1871 Kirkwood took S. M. Finch into partnership. — Iowa 
City Eepublican, April 19, 1871. 

512 Iowa City Eepublican, December 8, 1869. 

513 Iowa City Eepublican, April 27, 1870. 

51* Iowa City Eepublican, May 4, 11, 1870. The other officers 
were: C. T. Eansom, vice president; and S. Sharpless, secretary- 
treasurer. 

515 loiva City Eepublican, December 14, 1870. 

516 Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 1523. 

517 Zowo City Eepublican, May 10, October 11, 1871; and 
Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 1540. 

518 It would be useless to go into the details of the history of 
this railroad project. Besides, the materials are so fragmen- 
tary that a complete account could scarcely be written without 
a comprehensive study of railroad building in Iowa during the 
period in question. 

Materials may be found in the Kirkwood Correspondence ; in 
a private letter book containing copies of letters written by 



440 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

Mr. Kirkwood, now in the possession of The State Historical 
Society of Iowa; and in tlie newspapers of Iowa City and other 
towns along the route of the proposed road. See also Aurner's 
Leading Events in Johnson County History, Vol. I, pp. 229, 
232. In the absence of data, it is not possible to state the 
effect of this venture on Mr. Kirkwood 's financial condition. 
It is safe to assume that he was not made any richer except in 
experience. 

The coal mine apparently was more successful than the rail- 
road. It was located at Coalfield in Monroe County. — See 
Kirlwood Correspondence, Nos. 1557, 1599-1608. 

619 Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 1520. 

520 Iowa City Eepublican, June 28, October 4, 18, 1871. 

521 KirTcwood Correspondence, Nos. 1539, 1542, 1547, 1553. 
5^2 Kirkwood Correspondence, Nos. 1620-1623, 1625. 

CHAPTER XXVIII 

523 Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 1632. 

524 Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 1637. 

525 Kirkwood Correspondence, Nos. 1628, 1629, 1641. 

526 7owa City Eepublican, May 12, 19, 1875. 

527 For a good discussion of the situation see Clarkson's The 
Stampede from General Weaver in the Eepublican Convention 
of 1875 in the Annals of loiva (Third Series), Vol, X, pp. 561- 
569. 

528 This account of the convention is based on, and the quo- 
tations are taken from, the descriptions in the Weekly Iowa 
State Eegister (Des Moines), July 2, 1875; Iowa City Eepub- 
lican, July 7, 1875; and Clarkson's The Stampede from General 
Weaver in the Eepublican Convention of 1875 in the Annals of 
Iowa (Third Series), Vol. X, pp. 565, 566. 

529 Kirkwood Correspondence, Nos. 1651, 1656, 1658, 1664. 

^zo Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 1663; and Iowa City Ee- 
publican, July 7, 1875. 



NOTES AND REFERENCES 441 

531 See Clarkson's The Stampede from General Weaver in the 
Bepublican Convention of 1875 in the Annals of loiva (Third 
Series), Vol. X, p. 566. 

532 Weekly Iowa State Register (Des Moines), August 27, 
1875. 

533 According to the official canvass Kirkwood received 
124,801 votes and Leffler, 93,270.— /ottrna? of the House of 
Representatives, 1876, p. 16. 

534 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1876, pp. 24, 25. 

535 Shambaugh 's Messages and Proclamations of the Gov- 
ernors of Iowa, Vol. IV, pp. 285-304. 

536 Governor Kirkwood took a great interest in seeing to it 
that Iowa was well represented by exhibits at the Centennial 
Exposition at Philadelphia. For instance, see Shambaugh 's 
Messages and Proclamations of the Governors of Iowa, Vol. IV, 
pp. 306, 307, 310-313. 

The conditional pardon of a convict by the name of R. D. 
Arthur led to a lawsuit in which the Governor was finally 
upheld by the Supreme Court. — Arthur v. Craig, 48 Iowa 264. 

^^■^ Executive Journal, 1872-1873, p. 443, Public Archives, 
Des Moines. 



CHAPTER XXIX 

538 Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 1699. 

539 Kirkwood Correspondence, Nos. 1811, 1817, 1879, 1911. 

540 Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 1926. 

541 Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 1805. 

542 Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 1694. 

543 Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 1750. 

544 Kirkwood Correspondence, Nos. 1949, 1958. 

545 The Iowa Daily State Register (Des Moines), January 12, 
13, 1876. 



442 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

540 Journal of the House of Bepresentatives, 1876, pp. 47, 48. 
For a more complete account of this senatorial contest see 
Clark's History of Senatorial Elections in Iowa, Ch. XI. 

5-47 Kirktoood Correspondence, No. 2025. 

548 Iowa City Eepublican, January 19, 1876. 

549 Congressional Directory, 1877-1881. 

550 Congressional Record, 1st Session, 46tli Congress, pp. 
2213-2217. 

551 Congressional Record, 1st Session, 46tli Congress, pp. 2217, 
2219. 

552 Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 2091. 

553 Congressional Record, 2nd Session, 45th Congress, pp. 
1642, 3570, 4588; 3rd Session, 45th Congress, p. 2035; 1st 
Session, 46th Congress, pp. 1945, 1946, 1947; 3rd Session, 46th 
Congress, pp. 1291-1297. 

554 Congressional Record, 2nd Session, 45th Congress, pp. 
4547, 4548; 1st Session, 46th Congress, pp. 2403, 2404. 

555 Congressional Record, 3rd Session, 46th Congress, pp. 
1595, 1698, 1705, 1750-1752. 

556 Congressional Record, 2nd Session, 46th Congress, pp. 
3916, 4111-4113. 

557 Congressional Record, 1st Session, 46th Congress, pp. 
1629, 1630; 3rd Session, 46th Congress, pp. 1835-1838. 

558 Congressional Record, 2nd Session, 46th Congress, pp. 
2186, 2189-2191, 2197, 2198; 3rd Session, 46th Congress, pp. 
1030, 1031, 1093-1095. These are only a few of the subjects 
on which Senator Kirkwood spoke during the debates in the 
Senate, but they are the subjects in which he showed the 
greatest interest. 

559 This paragraph is based on statements made to the writer 
by Mrs. Kirkwood. Many invitations to public functions, 
social and otherwise, are to be found in the Kirkwood Cor- 
respondence. 



NOTES AND REFERENCES 443 

560 Lathrop 's The Life and Times of Samuel J. Kirkwood, 
pp. 376, 377. 

561 Kirkwood Correspondence, pp. 2120-2155, etc. 

CHAPTER XXX 

562 Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 2180 ; The Washington 
Post (Washington, D. C), March 2, 1881. 

563 Newspaper clipping in small scrapbook, kept by Mrs. 
Kirkwood, now in the possession of The State Historical Soci- 
ety of Iowa, p. 3. 

5M Kirkwood Correspondence, Nos. 2189, 2190, 2203. 

565 Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 2201. 

566 The Washington Post, March 8, 9, 1881; clippings in 
small scrapbook, p. 17. 

567 Private Letter Book of Secretary Kirktvood, No. 1, p. 44, 
in the possession of The State Historical Society of Iowa. 

568 Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 2202. 

569 See Private Letter Book of Secretary Kirkwood, No. 1, 
p. 467. 

570 This list was compiled by the writer from the Register of 
the Department of the Interior Corrected to October 10, 1881, 
in the office of the Secretary of the Interior in Washington. 

571 Newspaper clipping in small scrapbook, p. 20. 

572 The Washington Post, March 10, 11, 14, 1881. 

573 Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 2218. 

574 Private Letter Book of Secretary Kirkwood, No. 1, p. 289. 

575 Orders, Circulars, etc., in the office of the Secretary of the 
Interior, p. 351. 

576 Orders, Circulars, etc., in the office of the Secretary of the 
Interior, p. 363. 

577 Beport of the Secretary of the Interior, 1881, Vol. I, pp. 
iv-vii. 



444 SAMUEL J. KIRKWOOD 

578 Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 2237. See also letter to 
Edward W. Bok. — Private Letter Book of Secretary Kirkwood, 
No. 2, p. 10. 

579 Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 2240. For letters con- 
cerning the leasing of this house, which was No. 223 East 
Capitol St., see Private Letter Book of Secretary Kirkwood, 
No. 2, pp. 13, 18, 36, 38. 

580 Private Letter Book of Secretary Kirkioood, No. 2, p. 29 ; 
clipping in small scrapbook, p. 18 ; clipping in large scrapbook, 
p. 27. 

581 The Washington Post, April 16, 17, 1882. 

CHAPTER XXXI 

582 Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 2260. 

583 La'throp 's The Life and Times of Samuel J. Kirkivood, 
pp. 382, 416; Kirkwood Correspondence, Nos. 2265-2298. 

584 See Kirkwood Correspondence, Nos. 2341-2350. 

585 Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 2345. 

586 Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 2333. By the time Mr. 
and Mrs. Kirkwood started on their trip the Northern Pacific 
Railroad had been completed, and so they went over that line 
from St. Paul to Tacoma, and returned over the Union Pacific 
from San Francisco. 

587Lathrop's The Life and Times of Samuel J. Kirkwood, 
pp. 417-419. 

588 A number of these speeches are printed in Lathrop's The 
Life and Times of Samuel J. Kirkxvood, Ch. XIX. 

580 Iowa City Daily Republican, August 20, 1886. 

590 Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 2407. 

591 Kirkwood Correspondence, Nos. 2399, 2413, 2423. 

592 Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 2413 (there are several 
letters under this number). 



NOTES AND REFERENCES 445 

593Lathrop's The Life and Times of Samuel J. Kirlwood, p. 
429. The letter of acceptance is here printed in full. 

ss* See Eirlnvood Correspondence, No. 2421. Mr. Joe E. 
Lane of Davenport was the manager of Kirkwood's campaign. 

505 Kirkicood Correspondence, Nos. 2424, 2435. 

596 Hayes received 15,279 votes; O'Meara, 8,602; and Kirk- 
wood, 8,009. — Lathrop 's The Life and Times of Samuel J. 
KirJcwood, p. 440. 

CHAPTER XXXII 

507 Iowa Historical Eecord, Vol. IV, pp. 87, 88. 

598 See letter in the Annals of Iowa (Third Series), Vol. IV, 
pp. 475, 476. 

599 KirTcwood Correspondence, No. 2440. 
GOO Eirltcood Correspondence, No. 2469. 

601 The following description of the gathering in honor of 
Mr. Kirkwood, together with the extracts from speeches and 
letters, is taken from the account written by Mr. John Springer, 
then editor of the Iowa City Press, who was a member of the 
party. The account is reprinted in full in Lathrop 's The 
Life and Times of Samuel J. Kirkwood, pp. 447-460. A cut of 
the photograph taken at this time is printed in Aurner's Lead- 
ing Events in Johnson County History, p. 622. 

602 This letter from David B. Henderson was received later. 
— Kirkwood Correspondence, Miscellaneous, No. 77. 

603 Lathrop 's The Life and Times of Samuel J. Kirkwood, 
Ch. XXIII; and accounts in the Des Moines newspapers. 

It should also be noted that there is a bronze statue of 
Samuel J. Kirkwood in the Hall of Fame in the capitol build- 
ing at Washington, D. C. It is the work of an Iowa sculptress 
■ — Vinnie Eeam Hoxie. 

604 Kirkwood Correspondence, No. 839. 



INDEX 



447 



INDEX 



Accountability, need of, 222 

Accounts, examination of, 54 

Adjutant General, service of Baker 
as, 212; need of assistance to, 
236 

Agricultural College, 147; meeting 
of Trustees of, 171, 172; 
chairman of Board of Trustees 
of, 327 

Agricultural exhibits, 172 

Agricultural professorship, 109 

Agriculture, interest of Kirkwood 
in, 170, 171; reference to, 223 

Aids, appointment of. 211, 212 

Albia, joint debate at, 136 

Aldrich, Charles, 124, 179, 227, 
382 

Alexander, Mary, 391 

Alexandria, 13 

Allen, I. J., letter from, 360 

Allison, William B., first political 
service of, 127; reference to, 
179, 211, 328, 349, 377; letter 
from, 198, 280, 327, 342, 343; 
letter to, 293 ; service of Kirk- 
wood to, 302, 303; movement 
in favor of, 307; campaign of, 
against Harlan, 326; fear of 
opposition of, 342 

Altoona (Pennsylvania), meeting 
of loyal Governors at, 247-252, 
293 

Amin Bey, 70 

Amusements, 38 

Anamosa, 141, 408 

Anderson, Senator, 146 

Andre, John, 150 

Andrew, John A., address written 
by, 248, 249 

Animal husbandry, bureau of, 356 

Antietam, battle of, 248 

Appointments, making of, 210-215, 
264; applications for, 362 

Appropriations, 147, 148 

Arkansas Post, battle of, 297, 298 

Armentrout, Abram, employment 
of Kirkwood by, 24, 25 

Arms, difficulty in securing, for 
troops, 186-188, 206-209; need 
for, on frontier, 258, 259; need 
for protection of, 265 

Army, appointments in, 212-215; 

30 



efforts to secure promotions in, 

241-243 
Army appropriation bill, speech 

on, 350-355 
Army clothing, speculation in, 336 
Army of Potomac, 249, 250 
Arnold, Benedict, 176 
Art Union, 66 
Arthur, Chester A., 368 
Arthur, R. D., pardon of, 441 
Assassination, attempts at, 276- 

278 
Assault and battery, 70 
Assistants, choice of, 210-212 
Auditor of State, report of, 220 
Audubon County, 331, 332 
Autobiography, 379 
Autograph album, 9, 23, 24 

Babbitt, L. W., 410 

Bacon, John H., 139 

Bailev, Gideon S., 108 

Baker, Elihu, 410 

Baker, Nathaniel B., 199, 212, 
231, 239, 265, 273, 334; ser- 
vice of, as Adjutant General, 
212; letter from, 240, 307 

Baldwin, Caleb, 224, 259, 341; 
letter to, 265; letter from, 342 

Ballard, S. M., nomination of 
Kirkwood by, 331, 332, 333 

Ballot box, protection of, 146, 147 

Baltimore, 1, 11, 13, 247 

Bank, president of, 371 (see also 
State Bank) 

Bank notes, 117, 222 

Banking, 49; views of Kirkwood 
on, 71, 72 

Banks, Committee on, 109 

Bar, admission of Kirkwood to, 
30, 31 

Barker, Frank, friendship be- 
tween Kirkwood and, 30, 31, 
43 ; reference to, 32 ; murder 
of, 41, 42 

Barker, Margaretta, friendship of 
Mrs. Kirkwood and, 43 ; refer- 
ence to, 46 

Barner, Mr., 265 

Bartley, Mordecai, 395, 396 

Bartley, Thomas W., Kirkwood in 
office of, 27-31; partnership of 

449 



450 



INDEX 



Kirkwood and, 32 ; work left to 
Kirkwood by, 35, 36; service 
of, as acting Governor, 39; ref- 
erence to, 43, 85, 360, 396; 
election of, as Supreme Court 
Judge, 75; career of, 395 

Bates, Edvi'ard N., 108 

Belknap, William W., 108, 345 

Bennett, J. C, letter from, 175, 
176 

Benton Barracks, 206, 240, 241 

Big Crossings, 15 

Bigelow, William H., letter from, 
145 

Blacksmith, work of Jabez Kirk- 
wood as, 3 

Blaine, James G., 349 

Blair, Frank P., 145 

Blind, Asylum for, 97, 147 

Block-houses, building of, 260, 261 

Bloomfield, joint debate at, 136 

Bloom field Clarion, 133 

Bolton, Mr., 172 

Bonds, provision for sale of, 194; 
failure of people to purchase, 
204; difficulty in selling, 207- 
210, 222; sale of, to people, 355 

Booth, C. H., 410 

Borders of State, need for pro- 
tection of, 191; defense of, 253- 
261 

Boston Post, 209, 210 

Bounties, payment of, 236 

Bowen, Jesse, resignation of, 212 

Bowland, Margaretta, 42 

Bowland, Robert M., trial of, for 
miirder, 41-46 

Braddock, General, grave of, 15 

Braddock's Road, 13 

Bradley, P. B., 108 

Brainerd. Nathan Hoit, service of, 
as military secretary, 210,211; 
letter bv, 213, 241; reference 
to, 322, 382 

Bridgeport (Ohio), 17 

Brigadier General, efforts to se- 
cure appointments as, 241, 242 

Brigham, David T., 93 

Brinkerhoff, Jacob, 28, 360 

Brown, John, attitude of Kirk- 
wood toward raid by, 148-150; 
part of Coppoc in raid of, 155, 
156 

Brownsville (Pennsylvania), 15 

Buchanan, James, 174 

Burlington, 132. 142, 188, 321 

Burlington, Cedar Rapids & North- 
ern Railroad Company, 325 

Burlington Rifles, 176 

Burns. Barnabas, friendship be- 
tween Kirkwood and, 28, 29: 
partnership of Kirkwood and. 



75; reference to, 78, 395; let- 
ter from, 360 

Burnside, General, 293 

Bussey, Cyrus, 211, 254 

Byington, Le Grand, controversy 
between Kirkwood and, 167- 
170 

Cabinet, service of Kirkwood in, 
359-370 

Cadiz (Ohio), 17 

Cahill, Richard W., 52 

Cairo (Illinois), 239 

California, trip to, 373 

Camden, battle of, 2 

Cameron, Simon, letter to, 182, 
207 

Camp, C, 155, 156, 157 

Camp of instruction, 236 

Campaign, direction of, 100 ; de- 
scription of early, 102, 103; 
description of, for Governor, 
123-143, 338, 339; part of 
Kirkwood in, 314; use of mon- 
ey in, 344, 345; last participa- 
tion of Kirkwood in, 374-378 

Camps, visits of Kirkwood to, 239 

Canals, 48 

Capital, 97; plan to remove, 319 

Capital City Band, 339 

Capitol building (Ohio), descrip- 
tion of, 50 

Carpenter, Cyrus C, 108, 336 

Cattell, J. W., 91 

Cattle, raising of, 83, 84, 162 

Cattle disease, protection against, 
171 

Caucus, nomination by, 310, 346, 
347 

Cedar Countv, 155, 323 

Cedar Rapids, 116, 121, 142 

Centennial Exposition, 337. 338. 
441 

Central America, 145, 150 

Chain Lakes. 261 

Chambers, Alexander. 214 

Champaign Countv (Ohio), 50 

Chariton, joint debate at, 136, 137 

Charles, John H., 138 

Charters, 70 

Chase, Salmon P., attitude of 
Kirkwood toward. 165 

Cherokee, 261 

Cherokee County, 163 

Chesapeake Bav. 1 

Chicago, 77, 80, 121, 162, 188. 
324; emigration through, 79: 
convention at. 164-166 

Chicago, Towa and Nebraska Rail- 
road, 121 

Chicago and Rock Island Rail 
road, 165 



INDEX 



451 



Chicago Tribune, 209 

Chipman, N. P., letter from, 274 

Cholera, adjournment of conven- 
tion because of, 63, 64 

Church, interest of Kirkwood in 
work of, 38 

Churches, taxation of, 69 

Cincinnati (Ohio), 31, 400; 
choice of, for holding of conven- 
tion, 63, 64; constitutional con- 
vention at, 65-74; impressions 
of, by Kirkwood, 65-67; con- 
vention at, 439 

Cincinnati College, 67 

Circulating medium, scarcity of, 
117; supplying of, 118 

Civil service, reforms in, 370 

Civil War, first call for troops in, 
179, 180; activities of Kirk- 
wood as Governor during, 181- 
300 

Clark, Ezekiel, birth of, 34; ref- 
erence to, 77, 120, 404, 410; 
Kirkwood urged to come West 
bv, 78 ; history of mill owned 
by, 82 ; letter 'from, 162, 196 ; 
money advanced by, 185, 203 

Clark, ichabod, 33, 34 

Clark. Jane, birth of, 34; first 
meeting of Kirkwood and. 35: 
marriage of Kirkwood and, 37 
(see also Kirkwood, Mrs.) 

Clark. John, friendship between 
Kirkwood and, 30; birth of, 34; 
visit of Kirkwood at home of, 
34, 35 ; visit of, to Iowa City, 
77, 78; reference to, 78, 80 

Clark, Lincoln. 108 

Clark, Rush. 211, 227 

Clark, Samuel Kirkwood. letter to, 
153, 154; death of, 297, 298 

Clarke, William Penn, 100, 104, 
306, 408, 418 

Clarkson. James S., 334 

Clarksville, 82 (see Coralville) 

Clay. Cassius M.. lecture by. 66 

Clayton County. 199 

Cleveland (Ohio). 21, 26 

Clearing of land. 21 

Clinton, 324, 325 

Clinton County, 323, 374 

Close, M. T., 324 

Clothing, appeal for, 235 

Coal mine. 325 

College Hall. 67 

Columbus (Ohio). 17. 21. 26, 31, 
65, 400; constitutional conven- 
tion at, 47-64; attractions of. 
62, 63 

Columbus City, 183 

Commissioner of Indian Affairs. 
363 



Committees, membership of Kirk- 
wood on, 53, 94, 109, 349 

Companies, acceptance of, 196, 
199 

Compromise, attitude of Kirkwood 
toward. 175 

Compromise of 1850, 174, 175 

Concord stage, 105 

Confederates, exchange of prison- 
ers with, 239; invasion of 
Maryland by, 247; defeat of, 
248 ; sympathizers with, in 
Iowa, 262-278 

Congress, Kirkwood urged to be 
candidate for, 101, 102; sug- 
gestions for memorials to, 150; 
letter to delegation in, 174, 175; 
validity of laws of, 351 

Conkling, Roscoe, 349, 355 

Connecticut, letter to Governor of, 
187 

Connelly. Edward. 119 

Conscription, preparations for. 
233, 234; lack of necessity for. 
234; threats of resistance to, 
263-270 

Constitution of Iowa, 1846. 117 

Constitution of Iowa. 1857. pro- 
visions of, concerning banking. 
118; reference to, 407 

Constitution of Ohio, character of. 
73 ; reference to. 396 ; reasons 
for revision of. 398 

Constitution of United States. 350 

Constitutional Convention of Iowa, 
1857. 98 

Constitutional Convention of Ohio. 
service of Kirkwood in. 47-74 

Contingent fund, provision for. 
194; use of, 238 

Coolbaugh. William F.. 91 

Copperheads, difficulty with, in 
Iowa, 262-278 

Coppoc. Barclay, controversy over 
rendition of, 155-162 

Coppoc, Edwin, 156 

Coralville, location of Kirkwoods 
at. 82 ; friends of Kirkwoods in. 
85; mill dam at. 91; reference 
to. 105. 137. 162. 180. 301; 
burning of house at. 404 

Corinth, battle of. 244 

Corn, raising of, 83 

Cornell College, visiting commit- 
tee of, 172 

Corporate powers. 56 

Corporations, abuses in laws con- 
cerning, 49: liability of indi- 
viduals in. 56-58; taxation of. 
68; franchises of. 70 

Correctionville. 261 

Correspondence, neglect of. 363 



452 



INDEX 



Corwin, Thomas, story concerning, 

40, 41 
Cosmopolitan Art Association, 172 
Coulson, Mary, 2, 5 
Coulson, Miss, 5 

Council Bluffs, 138, 196, 257, 258 
Counties, discrimination between, 

233 
County fairs, 172 
County judges, 144, 171 
County officials, 222 
Court of Claims, 111 
Courts, 61 
Cox, Thomas J., store bought by, 

120 
Crawford County (Ohio), 52 
Credits, taxation of, 68 
Crocker, Marcellus M., 241 ; letter 

to, 242, 281, 285; letter from, 

280, 281, 306 
Crops, harvesting of, 231 
Crum family, 85 
Cuba, expedition to, 148, 149 
Cumberland (Maryland), 13, 15 
Cumberland Road, journey of 

Kirkwoods over, 11-18 
Currency, views of Kirkwood on, 

72, 73, 355 
Curtin, Andrew G., call issued by, 

247, 248 
Curtis, Samuel R., 127, 258, 274, 

308 

Dancing, 38 

Dart, "William S., 410 

Davenport, 78, 81, 129, 141, 180, 
273. 374, 408, 410; speech by 
Kirkwood at, 131, 181, 182, 
201, 377 

Davis, Jefferson, 269 

Davis, Timothy, 125 

Dawes, Henry L., 349 

Day, James G., 372 

Day, M., 406 

Deaf and Dumb, Asvlum for, 97, 
137, 418 

Dean, Henry Clay, 171 

Decatur County, 265 

Decorah, 142 

Delano, Columbus, 44, 397 

Delinquent taxes, 426 

Democratic party, Kirkwood a 
member of, 39-41; dissatisfac- 
tion of Kirkwood with, 76, 77; 
division in, 200 

Denmark (Iowa), 172 

Denmark, letter from. 226, 227; 
appointment of Kirkwood as 
Minister to, 279-283 

Dennis family, 85 

Deputy assessor, employment of 
Kirkwood as, 24, 25 



Des Moines, 78, 145, 172, 189, 
220, 285, 289, 298, 306, 308, 
314, 318, 331, 334, 339, 344, 
345, 386, 410; route to, in early 
days, 105 ; description of, in 
1858, 106, 107; receptions at, 
113; convention at, 125, 197, 
199; Republican rally at, 167; 
speech at, 200-205, 336; trip 
from Iowa City to, 299; mail 
service for, 409 

Des Moines House, 228 

Des Moines Rapids, canal around, 
315 

Des Moines River Lands, 171 

Dewey, J. N., letter from, 309, 
344; letter to, 330; reference 
to, 341 

Dewey, Laurin, 108, 199 

Dey, Peter A., 382 

Discharge of soldiers, 238 

Disloyalty in Iowa, 262-278 

Distillery, 336 

District courts. 61 

Dodge, Augustus Caesar, nomina- 
tion of, for Governor, 128 ; cam- 
paign between Kirkwood and, 
128-143; defeat of, 143; refer- 
ence to, 339. 371 

Dodge, Grenville M., 138, 241, 
242, 326; letter to, 244; letter 
from, 380, 381 

Doolittle, James R., letter from, 
145 

Douglas, Stephen A., opposition of 
Kirkwood to bill of, 76, 77; ref- 
erence to, 81; effect of bill of, 
86 

Draft, possibility of need of, 232- 
234; threats of resistance to, 
263-270; method of dealing 
with resistance to, 286, 287 

Draft commissioners, instructions 
to. 233, 234 

Dred Scott Decision, resolution 
relative to. 111, 112 

Dress, carelessness of Kirkwood 
in, 131, 132 

Drug clerk, employment of Kirk- 
wood as, 7-9 

Drummond, Thomas, 108; letter 
from, 124 

Dubuque, 141, 362; military com- 
pany at. 176, 177; speech at, 
286, 287 

Duncombe, John F., story concern- 
iner. 84, 85; reference to, 404 

Dunlavy, Henry, letter from, 313 

Dutton,' John W., 410 

Kads, .Tames D.. defalcation of, 96 
East, trips to, 298 



INDEX 



453 



Eastman, Enoch W., letter to, 188 

Economy, need of, 147, 222, 226 

Edginton, Edward T., 410 

Edmonds, James B., 324 

Edmonds & Ransom, 119 

Edmunds, George F., 355 

Education, interest of Kirkwood 
in, 96, 97; part of Kirkwood in 
law concerning, 110 

Education, State Board of, 146, 
407 

Edwards, John, offer of, to re- 
sign, 189; reference to, 211, 
254, 255 ; trouble over appoint- 
ment of, 214, 215 

Eighth General Assembly, inaugu- 
ration of Kirkwood by, 145, 
146; adjournment of, 163 

Eldora, 142 

Elections, suggestions relative to, 
146, 147; law giving soldiers 
right to vote at, 236, 237; use 
of money at, 350-355 

Electors, disqualifications of, 56 

Elliott, M. L., 241 

Elmira. 325 

Emancipation Proclamation, 248, 
250 

Emigration, 79, 80, 403 

Eminent domain, right of, 58 

Emmet County, 261 

England, attitude toward, 228 

Enlistment, term of, 231 

Equipment, difficulty in securing, 
for troops, 186-188, 206-209, 
232 

Erie and Ohio Canal, 20, 26 

Estherville, 261 

Evidence, bill relating to, 97 

Ewing, Thomas, 44, 397 

Exchange of prisoners, 239-241 

Exemption from taxatiofi, 68, 69 

Extradition case, 155-162 

Fairall, Samuel H., 326, 382 
Fairfield, W. B., 331, '333 
Fairfield, 141, 263, 274 
Farm, profits made on, 83, 84; 

reference to. 301 
Farm machinery, tax on, 312. 313 
Farmer, work of Kirkwood as. 81- 

85 
Farming, attitude toward, 25 
Farnam, Henrv, letter from, 165 
Farwell. S. S.. 382 
Favoritism, charges of, 196, 199 
Federal government, relation of 
States to. 150; support of. by 
Iowa, 193 : ta^es in support of, 
222 ; power of, to use armv. 
350-355; efforts to weaken. 353 
Federal Relations, Committee on. 



92, 98, 109; reports of Kirk- 
wood as chairman of, 110-112 

Felt, A. J., letter from, 329 

Ferries, 80 

Fessenden, William P., 320 

Finch, S. M., partnership with, 
439 

Finkbine, R. S., 334, 382 

Financial situation, 117 

First Iowa Regiment, praise of, 
204, 205, 218; treatment of, by 
Governor, 216, 217 

Fisher, Maturin L., 200 

Five per cent fund. 111 

Flag of Second Iowa, 228, 229 

Fleming's Ravine, 30 

Flour mill, 82 

Folsom familv, 85 

Foote, J. G.. 334 

Ford. Thomas H., 28 

Foreign Relations, Committee on, 
349 

Fort Dodge, 83, 260 

Fort Donelson, celebration of cap- 
ture of, 227, 228; charge of 
Second Iowa at, 229; reference 
to, 239, 241, 293, 296, 427; 
Tuttle's charge at, 242 

Fort Madison. 142, 170 

Fort Sumter, 179, 195, 257 

Franchises. 49, 70 

Franklin County (Ohio), 51 

Freedman's Aid Society, 302 

Fremont, John C, 255 

Frontier, protection of, 191, 192, 
222, 257-261 

Fugitive Slave Law, 134, 275 

Funding bill. 355 

Funeral, 387 

Garfield, James A., appointment 
of Kirkwood bv, 359; assassina- 
tion of, 366; death of, 368; ref- 
erence to. 397 

Catling, William J.. 410 

Gear, John H.. 330, 331, 334; 
withdrawal of, 332, 333 

Geauga County (Ohio). 50 

General Assembly, remarks con- 
cerning sessions of. 53-56; ref 
erence to. 81, 182. 282. 289 
328, 345; service of Kirkwood 
in, 91-115: control of. by Re 
publicans. 103; receptions giv 
en by, 113. 114; opposition to 
inaugural address in. 152. 153 
action of. concerning Coppoc 
case. 159-162: veto messages to 
163; extra session of. in 1861 
188-194: service of Baker in 
212; celebration of capture of 
Fort Donelson by. 227, 228 



454 



INDEX 



extra session of, in 1862, 235- 
237 

Germans, 336 

Gillespie, Mrs. A., letter to, 186 

Glenwood, joint debate at, 137, 
138 

Governor, veto power of, 56; sal- 
ary of, 109; first campaign of 
Kirkwood for, 123-143 ; election 
of Kirkwood as, 143, 205, 339; 
first year of Kirkwood's service 
as, 155-172; prospects of Kirk- 
wood for reelection as, 178, 
179; activities of Kirkwood as, 
during Civil War, 181-300; 
need for military staff for, 192 ; 
contingent fund for, 194; pro- 
vision for staff for, 194; cam- 
paign of Kirkwood for, in 1861, 
195-205 ; proposal for extra pay 
for, 218, 219; relations of, with 
soldiers, 230-246; abuse of 
Kirkwood as, 275, 276; refusal 
of Kirkwood to be candidate 
for, 284, 285; campaign for, in 
1863, 285-289; comment on 
Kirkwood's service as, 290, 291; 
personal side of Kirkwood's life 
as, 292-300; Kirkwood suggest- 
ed for, 326, 328-331; nomina- 
tion for, in 1875, 331, 334; 
campaign for, in 1875, 335- 
339; third term as, 339, 340; 
resignation as, 340; effect of 
election as, 343 : portrait un- 
veiled in office of, 386 

Governor's Greys, 176, 177 

Governors, meeting of, at Altoona, 
247-252 

Grand jury svstem, objections to, 
70, 71 

Grant, Ulysses S., 227, 397; let- 
ter to, 238; defense of, by Har- 
lan, 325 

Grant Club, organization of, 318; 
speech before, 319, 320 

Granville (Ohio), 65 

Graves, J. K., money advanced bv, 
185 

Graves, R. E., money advanced by, 
185; reference to, 415 

Greek Slave, 66 

Greeley. Horace. 375, 376 

Greer, Mrs. A. M., 386 

Grimes, James W., election of, as 
Governor, 86 : early relations 
between Kirkwood and, 100- 
105; letter from, 101, 102, 104, 
105, 127, 129, 144, 308. 309; 
reference to, 123, 167, 187, 199. 
282, 283, 286, 303, 311, 408, 
412, 425, 437; charge of bar- 



gain between Kirkwood and, 
129; letter to, 173, 174, 219, 
241, 242, 264, 297; refusal of 
Kirkwood to run against, 283; 
vote of, in impeachment case, 
319; strain in relations between 
KirkAvood and, 319-322; death 
of, 321 

Grimes, Mrs. James W., letter 
from, 321, 322 

Grinnell, Josiah B., 91, 164, 324 

Grinnell, 299; tornado at, 372 

Grist mill, 82 

Gue, B. F., 108, 382 

Guerrillas, raids by, 191, 256, 257 

Guiteau, Charles J., 366 

Guns, character of, 206, 207 

Hall of Fame, statue in, 445 

Halleck, Henry W., 229, 242; let- 
ter to, 294 

Ham's Hall, 347 

Hamilton, Schuvler, 229 

Hamilton, W. W., 91, 124; letter 
from, 123 

Hamilton Freeman, 124 

Hamlin, Hannibal, 349 

Hammond, William G., 347 

Hampton, Wade, 349 

Harbors, 48 

Harford County (Maryland), 1, 
8 ; departure of Kirkwood from, 
13 

Harlan, Edgar R., acknowledg- 
ments to, xi 

Harlan, James, 104, 105, 127, 
167, 178, 199, 335, 342, 437; 
support of Kirkwood by, 129; 
letter to. 187, 188; appointment 
of, to Cabinet, 303 ; desire of, 
to return to Senate, 308-310; 
election of, as Senator, 310, 
311; letter from, 325; cam- 
paign of, against Allison, 326 ; 
candidacy of, for Senate, 345 ; 
withdrawal of, 346 

Harper's Ferrv, raid on, 148-150 

Harrison, E. H., 410 

Hart family, concert by, 416 

Havre de Grace (Marvland), 1 

Hay. sale of, 275, 276 

Hayes, Walter I., 375; election 
of, 378; votes received bv, 445 

Health of soldiers, 235, 237. 238 

Henderson, David B., letter from, 
385 

Henderson, James P., 52 

Hepburn, William P., 108 

Hiatt, J. M., letter from, 276 

High schools, 110 

Hildreth, Azro B. F., letter to, 304 

Hill, Benjamin H., speech by, 354 



INDEX 



455 



Hillis, D. B., letter to, 244 

Hinckley, F. E., 324 

Hinsdale, B. A., 359 

Hiram College, 359 

Historical Society of Iowa, State, 

establishment of, 98 ; bill for 

salary for secretary of, 109, 

110; president of, 172; flag in 

possession of, 229; relics for, 

246; reference to, 302 
Hitchcock, Peter, 50 
Hoar, George P., 349 
Hogs, raising of, 83, 84 
Holt, Joseph, letter to, 197 
Home, building of, 301; purchase 

of, in Washington, 367 
Home guards, 192 ; organization 

of, 256, 269, 480; service of, 

273 
Homestead Bill, 150 
Homestead legislation, 126 
Homesteads, restriction of, in 

South, 312 
Horse shows, 172 
Hospitals, visits to, 239 
House of Representatives (Iowa), 

prominent members of, 108 
Housekeeping, beginning of, 37 
Hoxie, H. M., 198, 422 
Hoxie, Vinnie Ream, statue by, 

445 
Hubbard, Asahel W., 259, 308 
Hull, Captain, 333 

Illinois, 133. 253 
Impeachment trial, 319 
Inaugural address, contents of, 

146-153, 224-226, 339, 340 
Independence, 142 
Indian affairs, policv in regard to, 

356. 364-366 
Indian agencies, inspectors of, 365 
Indiana. 14. 117, 133; speeches 

in, 356. 357 
Indianapolis, speeches in, 356, 

357 
Tndianola, 314 

Indians, danger from, 33. 34. 
191; right of. to give testi- 
mony, 97; depredations by, 
163 ; protection of frontier 
against. 257-261; dealings with, 
360. 361 
Ingersoll, L. D.. letter from, 307 
Tn-rham, S. R.. letter to. 260 
Insane Asylum, 147. 170, 416 
Inspectors of Indian agencies, 365 
Internal revenue tax. 312 
Iowa, removal of Kirkwoods to, 
75-80; route to. 77, 78; emi- 
gration to. 79, 80, 403; finan- 
cial situation in, 117; attitude 



of people of, toward Union, 
177; quota of, in first call for 
troops, 180, 181; response of, 
at beginning of war, 181-194; 
support of Federal government 
by, 193; response of, to calls 
for troops, 230-234; protection 
of borders of, 253-261; method 
of dealing with disloyalty in, 
262-278; return of Kirkwoods 
to, 290; office-seekers from, 
362, 363 

Iowa & Southwestern Construction 
Company, 324 

Iowa & Southwestern Railroad 
Company, president of, 323-325 

lou'a Citizen, The, 151 

Iowa City, 77, 100, 141, 273, 274, 
298, 334, 356, 408; visit of 
Kirkwoods to, 77, 78; arrival 
of Kirkwoods in, 80 ; descrip- 
tion of, 81 ; purchase of store 
in, 82 ; friends of Kirkwoods 
in, 85 ; Republican State Con- 
vention at, 87-89; meeting of 
legislature at, 91; branch of 
State Bank at, 118, 119; inter- 
est of Kirkwood in community 
affairs at, 120-122; return of 
Kirkwood to, 163, 317; speech- 
es in vicinity of, 167, 318; 
joint debate at, 169, 170; 
speech at, 275, 314; trip to Des 
Moines from, 299; building of 
home in, 301; funeral oration 
at, 303; proposed railroad 
through. 323-325; reception at, 
347. 348; retired life of Kirk- 
wood at, 379-387; gathering at, 
in honor of Kirkwood, 381-386; 
funeral at, 387; population of, 
403 

Iowa City Lecture Association, 
121 

Iowa City Manufacturing Com- 
pany, 82 

Iowa City Nation.al Bank, 322 ; 
president of, 371 

Iowa CH)i Republican, 330 

Iowa City Township, 90, 121; 
road supervisor of, 318 

Towa County, 90, 374 

Iowa Lake. 261 

Towa River, 81 

Ireland. 1. 391 

Island No. 10, 241 

.Tackson, Andrew, 7 
.Tackson County, 374 
.Tasper County, 97 
.Tefferson. Thomas, 145 
Jerome. Mr.. 131 



456 



INDEX 



Jewett, Annie, 386 

Jewett, Etta, 386 

Jewett, J. E., partnership of 
Kirkwood and, 301 

Jewett, Mrs. L. C, 386 

Johnson, Andrew, 313; impeach- 
ment of, 319 

Johnson County, 87, 90, 302, 322, 
374, 426 

Johnson County Republican Con- 
vention, 90 

Joint debates, 103, 169, 170; ar- 
rangement for series of, 130, 
132, 134 

Jordan, M. C, letter from, 343 

Jones, George Wallace, 101, 103 

Journal of Commerce, 210 

Journeys, necessity of taking, 298 

Judicial department, committee on, 
53; views of Kirkwood on, 61, 
62 

Justices of the peace, 71 

Kansas, emigration to, 79 ; strug- 
gle in, 86, 148; resolution rela- 
tive to admission of, 92-96; ref- 
erence to, 155, 253 

Kansas-Nebraska Bill, opposition 
of Kirkwood to, 76, 77, 85, 86; 
reference to, 148, 402, 403 

Kasson, John A., letter from, 133; 
reference to, 283, 308 

Kasson, Mrs. John A., 309 

Keokuk, 167, 190, 203, 245, 258, 
259, 420; rendezvous at, 182; 
difficulty over company from, 
184, 185; troops at, 186; hos- 
pital at, 238 

Keokuk County, 213, 271, 277; 
Tally War in, 270-275, 277, 
278, 286, 287 

Kirk, E. R., 341, 342; letter 
from, 345 

Kirkwood, Coulson, 2, 391 

Kirkwood, Daniel, 8 

Kirkwood, Jabez, land given to, 
2 ; occupation of, 3 ; removal of, 
to Ohio, 11-18; land taken by, 
20 

Kirkwood, John, 3, 16, 85, 391; 
land bought by, 20 

Kirkwood, Robert, military ser- 
vice of, 2; reference to, 391 

Kirkwood, Robert, 2, 391 

Kirkwood, Robert, 2, 391; school 
taught by, 6 

Kirkwood, Samuel J., career of, 
ix; sources for biography of, x; 
birth of, 1 ; ancestors of, 1-3 ; 
boyhood of, 3-5; school days of. 
in Washington, 5-7; employ- 
ment of, as drug clerk, 7. 8.9; 



school taught by, 8, 23; jour- 
ney of, to Ohio, 11-18; first 
home of, in Ohio, 19-21; poem 
by, 23, 24, 392, 393; service 
of, as deputy assessor, 24, 25; 
employment of, in tavern, 25 ; 
study of law by, 25-31; part- 
nership of, with Hartley, 32, 
33 ; meeting of Jane Clark and, 
33-35 ; first legal papers drawn 
up by, 35-37; marriage of, 37; 
early married life of, 37, 38; 
early law practice of, 39; inter- 
est of, in politics, 39-41, 76, 
402, 403 ; election of, as prose- 
cuting attorney, 41; Bowland 
murder trial conducted by, 41- 
46; service of, in Ohio consti- 
tutional convention, 47-74; part- 
nership of, with Burns, 75; 
opposition of, to Douglas's bill, 
76, 77, 85, 86; removal of, to 
Iowa, 77-80; activities of, as 
miller and farmer, 81-89; speech 
of, in Republican State Conven- 
tion, 87-89; election of, as State 
Senator, 90, 91; service of, in 
Sixth General Assembly, 91-99; 
service of, as chairman of State 
central committee, 100 ; early 
friendship between Grimes and. 
100-105; campaign trip of 
Grimes and, 102, 103; service 
of, in Seventh General Assem 
bly, 105-115; service of, as di 
rector of State Bank, 116-120 
activity of, in railroad conven 
tion, 120, 121; social life of 
121; nomination of, for Gov 
ernor, 123-127; campaign of 
against Dodge, 127-143; first 
election of, as Governor, 143 
first inaugural address of, 144 
154; refusal of, to return Bar 
clay Coppoc to Virginia, 155 
159; criticism of, on account of 
Coppoc case, 159-162; veto mes- 
sages of, 163 ; activities of, at 
Chicago convention, 164-166; 
service of, in campaign of 1860, 
167-170; controversy between 
Le Grand Byington and, 167- 
170 ; official acts of, as Gov- 
ernor, 170-172; attitude of, to- 
ward Southerners, 173-175 ; first 
meeting of Lincoln and, 177, 
178; call for troops received by, 
180, 181: raising of first troops 
bv, 181-194; difficulties of, in 
securing arms, 186-188, 206- 
209 ; extra session called by, 
188, 189, 235 ; first war mes- 



INDEX 



457 



sage of, 189-193; campaign of, 
for Governor in 1861, 195-205; 
Sherman Hall speech of, 201- 
205 ; second election of, as Gov- 
ernor, 205 ; activities of, during 
first year of war, 206-219; ef- 
forts of, to secure sale of bonds, 
207-210; appointments of secre- 
taries and aids by, 210-212; 
army appointments by, 212-215; 
proclamation by, 215, 216, 217, 
218, 233, 235; message of, in 

1862, 220-224; second inaugu- 
ral address of, 224-227; activ- 
ities of, in behalf of soldiers, 
230-246; message of, at extra 
session of 1862, 235-237; part 
of, in Altoona Conference, 247- 
252 ; activities of, in protection 
of borders of State, 253-261; 
difficulties of, on account of dis- 
loyalty in lovea, 262-278; mis- 
sion to Denmark offered to, 279- 
283; political prospects of, in 

1863, 283-285; activities of, in 
campaign of 1863, 285-289; 
close of governorship of, 289- 
291; personal life of, as Gov- 
ernor, 292-300; law practice re- 
sumed by, 301, 322; speeches 
bv, 302, "303; campaign of, for 
United States Senator, 303-310, 
341-347; election of, as United 
States Senator, 310, 311, 347; 
career of, in United States Sen- 
ate, 311-317, 348-358; strain in 
relations between Grimes and, 
319-322; interest of, in railroad 
project, 322-325 ; mission to 
Turkey offered to. 327; political 
prospects of, in 1875, 328-331; 
nomination of, for Governor in 
1875, 331-335: third campaign 
of, for Governor, 335-339; third 
election of, as Governor, 339 
third inaugural address of, 339 
340 ; resignation of, 340 ; ser 
vice of, as Secretary of Inte 
rior, 359-370; attitude of, to 
ward prohibition, 372; trip of 
to Pacific coast, 372-374; last 
candidacy of, for office, 374 
378; closing years of life of 
379-387; gathering in honor of 
381-386; unveiling of portrail 
of, 386; death of, 386, 387 
brothers of, 391; opposition of, 
to slavery, 402 ; invitation to, to 
speak in Ohio, 406 ; influence 
of, at Chicago convention, 417; 
votes received by, 422, 423 ; 
delinquent taxes of, 426 



Kirkwood, Mrs. Samuel J., ac- 
knowledgments to, xi; church 
membership of, 38; friendship 
of Mrs. Barker and, 43 ; visit 
of, to Columbus, 62 ; reference 
to, 65, 142, 162, 296, 297, 298 
301, 314, 348, 367, 371, 38o! 
385, 386, 387, 444; visit of to 
Iowa City, 77, 78; relatives of, 
in Iowa, 78, 85; children cared 
for by, 82, 83, 84; activities of, 
302; life of, in Washington, 
356; characterization of, 369; 
trip of, to Pacific coast, 373; 
residence of, 436 

Kirkwood, "Wallace, 3, 391; drug 
store of, 8 

Kirkwood, W. W., letter from, 
206; sickness of, 296, 297 

Kirkwood (Delaware), 391 

Kirkwood House, 311 

Knights of Labor, 374 

Knights of the Golden Circle, 264 ; 
number of members of, 267 : 
character and purposes of, 267, 
268; efforts to gain information 
concerning, 268, 269 

Knox County (Ohio), 59 
'Kossuth County, 257 

Lake, E. W., 27, 28, 85 

Lake, Jed, letter to, 300 

Lake Erie, 20, 34 

Lamar, L. Q. C, 349 

Land, Indians' title to, 366 

Land grants, 223 

Lane, Ebenezer, 44, 45, 47, 396 

Lane, Joe R., 445 

Lansing, 142 

Larrabee, William, 334 

Larwill, John, 52 

Lathrop, Henry W., book by, x. 
379; reference to, 382 

Latta, William, pardon of. 171 

Law, practice of, by Kirkwood, 
32-46, 301, 322 

Law reform, attitude of Kirkwood 
toward. 70. 71 

Lee, Robert E., invasion of Marv- 
land bv, 247 

Leffler, Shepherd, 335, 339, 441 

Legal procedure, 49 

Legislative sessions, remarks of 
Kirkwood concerning, 53-56 

Letcher. Governor, correspondence 
of. with Kirkwood, 157; mes- 
sage of, to legislature, 158. 159 

Letters, writing of. bv Kirkwood, 
244-246, 299. 300 " 

Lexington (Ohio), 37 

Leyne, Patrick, 7 

Liberty Corners (Ohio), 52 



458 



INDEX 



Lincoln, Abraham, 138, 293, 303 
efforts of Kirkwood to secure 
nomination of, 165, 166, 417 
defense of, 168; congratulations 
to, 170; first meeting of Kirk 
wood and, 177, 178, 419; in 
auguration of, 179 ; letter to 
230, 231, 241; Emancipation 
Proclamation by, 248, 250 
conference of Governors with 
249-252; conversation between 
Kirkwood and, 251, 252; sup 
port of, by Kirkwood, 294, 295 
funeral oration for, 303 

Lindsley, William D., 402 

Linn County, 198 

Liquor, sale of, 70 

Literary institutions, taxation of, 
69 

Live stock, transportation of, 355, 
356 

Lodges, membership in, 38, 336 

Logan, Senator, 359 

Londonderry (Ireland), 1, 391 

Loughridge, William. 91 

Lowe, Ralph P., efforts of Kirk- 
wood in behalf of, 102 ; election 
of, as Governor, 103 ; reference 
to, 123; withdrawal of, as can- 
didate, 125, 126: nomination 
of, for Supreme Court Judge, 
126 

Lucas, Mrs. Edward, 85 

Lyon's Band, 347 

McClellan, George B., dissatisfac- 
tion with, 247-252, 293 ; remov- 
al of, 293, 296 

McCrary, George W., 108, 345 

McGregor, 142 

McKean, Thomas, 425 

McLeod, John, school of, attended 
bv Kirkwood, 5-7; reference to, 
40 

MePherson, M. L., 91. 98 

MacVeagh, Wayne, 367 

Madison County, 264 

Mahaska County, 271 

Mahonev, D. A., 108; arrest of, 
264 

Manassas, battle of, 216 

Manon, H. S., 59 

Mansfield (Ohio), roads to, 17; 
reference to, 20, 360, 393, 395, 
406; description of, 25-27; 
members of bar of, 28, 29; so- 
cial life in, 30, 37, 38; law 
practice of Kirkwood in, 32-46; 
position of Kirkwood in, 76; 
removal of Kirkwoods from, 77- 
79 ; banquet to Kirkwood at, 
79 ; people from, in Iowa, 85 



Manufacturing, promotion of, 120 

Maquoketa, 141 

Marengo, 142, 167, 408 

Marion, 408 

Marshalltown, 83, 142 

Maryland, boyhood of Kirkwood 
in, 1-10 ; reference to, 15 ; in- 
vasion of, 247 

Mason, Charles, 200 

Masonic Lodge, membership in, 
336 

Massachusetts, 171, 315, 316, 364 

Mechanics' lien, 109 

Medical aid. need of, 219, 223 

Medill, William, 52 

Merrill, Samuel, letter to, 208, 
209; letter from, 318, 319 

Merritt, William H., 200 

Message to legislature, contents of, 
189-193, 220-224. 235-237, 289 

Methodist Church, Mrs. Kirkwood 
a member of, 38 

Metropolitan Bank. 208 

Mexico, Minister to, 39 

Military affairs, management of, 
230-246 

Military companies, offer of ser- 
vices of. 176. 177 

Military dutv, excuse from, 58, 
399 ■ 

Military professorship, 223 

Military secretary, selection of, 
210 

Military training, lack of, 181 

Militia, 58; need for organization 
of, 175, 176 

Militia law, need of, 192 ; revision 
of, 194; reference to, 223 

Mill, history of. 82 ; patronage of, 
83; interest in affairs of, 162; 
reference to, 301; profit of, 404 

Miller, Daniel F., 179 

Miller. Dave, 360 

Miller, Joaquin, 364 

Miller, Samuel P., 197, 422; let- 
ter to, 208 

Miller, Valentine, letter from, 162 

Miller, work of Kirkwood as, 81- 
85 

Minister to Denmark, appointment 
of Kirkwood as. 279-283 

Minister to Turkev. offer of ap- 
pointment as, 327 

Minnesota. Indian depredations in, 
259 

Minute men, plan for raising of, 
192 

Mississippi & Missouri River Rail- 
road. 403 

Mississippi River, 14, 79. 121, 
132 : improvement of navigation 
of. 314, 315 



INDEX 



459 



Mississippi Valley, plan to remove 
capital to, 319 

Missouri, emigration to, 79 ; dan- 
ger of raids from, 191; defense 
against attack from, 198, 253- 
257; refugees from, in Iowa, 
266, 267 

Missouri Compromise, 77 

Missouri River, 257, 323 

Mitchell, Robert B.. petition of, 59 

Mitchell, M. H., 59 

Mob, method of dealing with, 286, 
287 

Mohican Creek, 19 

Money, oiTer of, at beginning of 
war, 185, 186; difficulty in 
raising, 207-210: use of, in 
campaign, 344, 345 

Monongahela River, 15 

Monroe, James, 6 

Monroe County, coal mine in, 325 

Montezuma, 408 

Moore's Opera House, 331 

Moot court, 29, 397 

Mormon Trail, 137 

Morrill, Justin S., 349 

Mortgages, taxation of, 69 

Morton, Oliver P., 349 

Mt. Pleasant, 170, 274. 309, 408 

Mt. Pleasant Guards, 176 

Mt. Vernon (Ohio), 17 

Murder trial, conduct of, by Kirk- 
wood, 43-46 

Murdock, Samuel, letter from, 384, 
385 

Murphv, J. W., 339 

Muscatine, 78, 141, 274, 322, 
376; speech by Kirkwood at, 
132, 133 

Muscatine County, 374 

National banks, 411 

National Road, journey over, 13- 
16 

Naturalization law, 126 

Neal. J. E., 91. 96, 97, 160 

Nebraska, admission of, 314-316 

Needham. John R., 422 

Negroes, right of. to give testi- 
mony, 97; colonization of, 145, 
150; iise of, as soldiers, 294; 
objection to counting of, 311 

New Castle (Delaware). 1 

New Castle County (Delaware), 
391 

New Hampshire, 212 

New Mexico. 95 

New Philadelphia (Ohio). 17 

New Ulm (Minnesota), massacre 
at, 259 

New York Citv, 42, 208 ; resist- 
ance to draft in, 286 



New York Tribune, 152, 209 
Newark (Ohio), 17, 65 
Newbold, Joshua G., 340, 343 
Newman, Joseph, 29 
Newton, 141, 408; speech at, 314 
Newville (Ohio), 21, 25, 52 
Niagara ship canal, 312 
Nicaragua, expedition to, 148, 149 
Ninth General Assembly, recom- 
mendations to, 220-226 
Noble, Reuben, 199, 422 ; letter 

from, 316 
North, compromise between South 

and, 175; despondency in, 227, 

247 
North Bend, 302 
Northeastern Iowa, campaign in, 

286 
Northern Iowa Border Brigade, 

261 
Northern Pacific Railroad, 373, 

444 
Northwestern frontier, protection 

of, 257-261 
Nourse, C. C, 127; letter from, 

308 
Nurses, need of, 223 

Oakland Cemetery, 387 

O'Connor, Henry, 100, 408 

Odd Fellows Lodge, membership 
in. 38, 336 

Office, location of, 170 

Office-seekers, experience with, 
362, 363 

Officers, election of, 71; salaries 
of, 109; appointment of, in 
army, 212-215 

Ohio, removal of Kirkwoods to, 
11-18: reference to, 14, 117, 
121, 133. 165, 301, 406; early 
life of Kirkwood in, 19-31; need 
of new Constitution in, 47-49; 
service of Kirkwood in consti- 
tutional convention of. 47-74; 
departure of Kirkwoods from, 
78, 79 

Ohio River. 17, 79 

Ohio Vallev. route to, 13 

Old Brick Capitol, 108, 114 

Old Stone Capitol. 81, 91, 98,99; 
convention in, 87 

O'Meara, T. J.. 374; votes re- 
ceived bv, 445 

Oregon, trip to, 373 

Oskaloosa, joint debate at, 134, 
135; reference to, 324, 408 

Pacific coast, trip to, 373 
Pacific Railroad, 312 
Pacific Railroad Bill, 150 
Palmer, Prank "W., 227 



460 



INDEX 



Paper money, 72, 73 

Paris, Grimes in, 321 

Park House, 137 

Parker, Jacob, 29 

Parole, breaking of, 240 

Partisanship, 52, 352; remarks 
concerning, 57; objection of 
Kirkwood to, 97 ; disappearance 
of, 189; revival of, 195 

Pattee, John, service of, as pri- 
vate secretary, 211 

Peace conference, attitude tovs^ard, 
174, 175 

Peace Democrats, 200 

Peacock, Lieutenant, 243 

Penitentiary, 71, 147, 170, 223 

Pennsylvania, 1, 14, 15, 19, 156 

Pensions, attitude tovifard, 355 

Pensions, Committee on, 349 

People's Charter, poem on, 23 

Perczel, Nicholas, 241 

Perkins, George D., 342 

Peterson. 261 

Petit larceny, 70 

Philadelphia, 337, 441 

Pierce, Franklin, 95 

Plough-handle Ticket, 133 

Plow, letter concerning, 172 

Plymouth (Ohio), 41, 46 

Poem, writing of, by Kirkwood, 
23, 24, 392, 393 

Politics, interest of Kirkwood in, 
39-41, 76, 77, 85, 86, 279-281, 
302, 303 ; last participation in, 
371-378 

Polk, James K., 395 

Polls, use of army to keep peace 
at, 350-355 

Polygamy, 94, 95 

Porter, Kimball, 119 

Portrait, unveiling of, 386 

Post Offices and Post Roads, Com- 
mittee on, 349 

Potomac River, 13, 14, 15 

Powell, John, 119 

Poweshiek County, 271 

Presbyterian Church, 5, 38 

President, preference of Kirkwood 
for, 165; call of, for troops. 
179, 180; plan for address to. 
248 ; conference of Governors 
with, 249-252; power of, to use 
army, 350-355 (see also Lin- 
coln. Abraham) 

Price, Eliphalet. letter from, 198, 
199, 290, 291; statement bv, 
387 

Price, Hiram, 100, 302, 345, 346, 
410; money advanced by, 185, 
203 : appointment of, 363 ; let- 
ter from, 377, 380 

Price, Mrs. Hiram, 367 



Printing, 53 

Prisoners, exchange of, 239-241 
Pritchard, Mrs. Rachel, 386 
Private property, taking of, for 

public use, 56 
Private secretary, provision for, 

194; choice of, 211 
Privileges and elections, committee 

on, 53 
Proclamation, 171, 182, 183, 188, 

189, 215-218, 233, 235 
Prohibition, views of Weaver on, 

331; attitude of Kirkwood to- 
ward, 337, 338, 372 
Promotions, efforts to secure, 241- 

243 
Prosecuting Attorney, election as, 

41; service as, 41-46, 47 
Public Buildings, Committee on, 

92, 109 
Public improvements. State debt 

to aid in, 48 
Pusey, W. H. M., 108, 115, 382 

Quilting bees, 38 

Railroad, inspection of, 373 

Railroad company, president of, 
323-325 

Railroad convention, attendance of 
Kirkwood at, 120, 121, 322 

Railroad stock, 336 

Railroads, 48, 77, 339; use of, by 
emigrants, 79 ; opposition to 
State aid to, 120, 121 

Railroads, Committee on, 92 

Randall. Alexander W., proposal 
bv. 218. 219 

Rankin, John W., 102, 108, 214 

Ran.som, C. T., 119 

Reading, taste of Kirkwood for, 
121. 122 

Real estate, taxation of. 69 

Receptions, 113, 114 

Reconstruction, attitude of Kirk- 
wood on. 313 

Redstone, Old Fort. 15 

Reed. Joseph R.. 372 

Regiments, raising of. 182-185. 
216-218; difficulty in filling va- 
cancies in old. 232-234, 236 
(see also Troops) 

Registration of voters. 146. 147 

Remonetization of silver. 355 

Representative, campaign for, 374- 
378 

Renresentatives, election of, 350, 
351 

Republican National Convention, 
part plaved bv Kirkwood at. 
164-166 

Republican party, early activities 



INDEX 



461 



of Kirkwood in behalf of, 89, 
90 ; victory of, 103 ; letter de- 
fending policies of, 168, 169; 
praise of, 356, 357 

Republican State Convention, at- 
tendance of Kirkwood at first, 
87-89; nomination of Kirkwood 
by, 125-127, 197, 198, 331- 
334; nomination of Stone by, 
285; reference to, 305 

Requisition for Barclay Coppoc, 
155-162 

Reservations, 366 

Resumption, 355 

Revenue, recommendations con- 
cerning, 220, 221, 222 

Revenue laws, 147 

Revolutionarv War, 2 

Riblet, Daniel, 360 

Rice, S. A., 197, 422 

Rich, Jacob, letter from, 303, 307, 
309. 319, 320, 321, 329, 341, 
342, 344, 347, 360, 385; ref- 
erence to, 326, 341, 359; letter 
to, 362 

Richardson, R. A., 108 

Richland County (Ohio), arrival 
of Kirkwood family in, 17; de- 
scription of, 19. 20; early life 
of Kirkwood in, 19-31; refer- 
ence to. 33, 52, 360, 393; ser- 
vice of Kirkwood as prosecuting 
attorney of, 41-46, 47; people 
from, in Iowa, 85 

Road supervisor, election as, 318 

Robinson, Captain. 237 

Robinson, Gifford S., 382 

Rock Island (Illinois), 78 

Rolla (Missouri). 237 

Root, J. C, letter from. 375 

Rothrock. James H., 382 

Rusch. Nicholas J., 91; letter 
from. 124; nomination of, 126 

Russell. Edward. 375 

Russell, John. 331, 382; with- 
drawal of. 332 

Russell, Nicholas, 237 

St. Clair, Arthur, 2 

St. James Hotel, 347, 381 

St. Louis. 206. 228. 229, 239, 

240, 297; convention at, 319 
St. Paul, 444 

Salaries, bill relative to, 109 
Samuels, Ben M., 102. 103, 408 
Sanders. J. H.. letter from. 272 
Sandusky (Ohio). 44. 400 
San Francisco. 444 
Sanxav. Theodore. 119 
Saunders. Addison H., 211 
Saunders. Alvin. 91. 166, 417; 

letter from, 178. 179 



Saverv Hotel. 309 

Saw mill, 82 

Sawver. William, 52 

Schaeffer, Charles A., 382 

School, attendance of Kirkwood at, 
5-7; teaching of, by Kirkwood, 
8, 22, 23 

School director, election as, 121 

School funds, security of. 96; ref- 
erence to, 110, 147; protection 
of, 223 

School lands. 96 

Schools and State University, 
Committee on. 109 

Schurz. Carl, 325. 361 

Scientific institutions, taxation of, 
69 

Scotch-Irish Presbyterians, 19 

Scotland. 391 

Scott County, 324, 374 

Scott vs. Sanford, resolution rela- 
tive to case of. 111, 112 

Secession, attitude of Kirkwood 
toward, 173-177 

Second Iowa Regiment, episode in 
history of. 228, 229 

Secret societies, attitude toward, 
336 

Secretary of the Interior, letter to, 
171; appointment as, 359; ser- 
vice as, 359-370 

Secretary of War. letter to, 187, 
231. 258, 259 (see also Cam- 
eron and Stanton) 

Sectionalism, 352 

Seevers. William H.. 108 

Sells. Eli.iah. 197, 422 

Senate, State, members of. 91, 108 

Senator, State, nomination and 
election of Kirkwood as, 90, 91; 
service of Kirkwood as, 91- 
115; defeat of Kirkwood for, 
326 

Senntor. United States, talk of 
Kirkwood as candidate for. 101, 
104. 282. 283. 290: campaign 
for, 303-310. 341-347; election 
as. 310. 311. 347; career as. 
311-317. 348-358: desire of 
Kirkwood to become, 328-330 

Settlers, danger to, from Indians, 
259. 260 

Seventh General Assemblv. service 
of Kirkwood in. 107-115 

Seward. William H.. attitude of 
Kirkwood toward. 165: corre- 
snondence with. 280. 281 

Sewing machine. 419 

Shambaugh. Benj. F., editor's in- 
troduction bv. vii: acknowledg- 
ments to. xi 

Shannon, Wilson. 39 



462 



INDEX 



Shaw, A. T., letter from, 179 

Shelledv, Stephen B., 108 

Shepherd, E., 119 

Sherman, Buren R., 371, 381, 382 

Sherman, Charles T., 29 

Sherman, Hoyt, 410 

Sherman, John, early association 
of Kirkwood and, 29; contests 
between Kirkwood and, 47 ; 
reference to, 395, 402 

Sherman Hall, speech in, 200-205, 
210 

Shiloh, battle of, 239, 241 

Sickness, 300 

Sigourney, 139, 314, 323, 408; 
Kirkwood at, 273, 274; plan to 
assassinate Kirkwood at, 277, 
278 

Silver, remonetization of, 355 

Sinking fund, remarks concern- 
ing, 60, 61; plan for, 399 

Sioux City, joint debate at, 138, 
139; reference to, 258, 261 

Sioux Indians, depredations by, 
259 

Sixth General Assembly, character 
of, 91, 92 

Skunk River War. 274 

Slagle, Christian "W., 410 

Slaughter houses, 66 

Slavery, opposition of Kirkwood 
to, 76, 86. 95, 173. 174, 402; 
attitiide of people of Iowa to- 
ward, 87; resolution relative to, 
111, 112; reference to, 126, 
145. 148. 169, 293; attitude of 
Kirkwood toward continuance 
of. 224, 225; relation of war to, 
295 

Smith. William T., money ad- 
vanced by, 186; reference to, 
382 

Smithfield (Pennsylvania), 15 

Smythe, Robert, 331, 333 

Sociables, 38 

Social life, character of. at Mans- 
field. 30, 37, 38; character of, 
in Columbus. 62, 63 ; partici- 
pation of Kirkwood in, 121, 
122 

Soldiers, pay of, 194; relations of 
Kirkwood with, 230-246 ; right 
of, to vote, 236, 237; popular- 
ity of, as candidates. 285 ; use 
of negroes as, 294; visits to, 
298 ; addresses at reunions of. 
379 

Soldiers' Orphans' Home. 302 
Somerfield (Pennsylvania). 15 
Sound money, importance of. 357 
South, mistake of people of. 149; 
compromise between \orth and. 



175; sympathizers with, in 
Iowa, 262-278; restriction of 
homesteads in, 312; attitude to- 
ward people of, 352, 353 
South America, 145, 150 
South Carolina, secession of, 173 
South English, disturbance at, 

270, 271 
Southern border, protection of, 

253-257 
Spain, Minister to, 128 
Special messages, 163 
Specie payments, resumption of, 

355 
Spirit Lake Massacre, 191, 257 
Springdale, John Brown at, 155 ; 

reference to, 159 
Springer, John, 382, 445 
Springfield (Illinois), visit of 
Kirkwood to, 177; reference to, 
188 
Stage coach. 105 
Stage line, 78 
Stanberry. Henry. 51 
Stanton, Edwin M., letter to, 231. 
232, 233, 238, 240, 241, 265, 
266. 269, 428 
State Bank of Iowa, part of Kirk- 
wood in law creating. 110; ser- 
vice of Kirkwood as director of, 
116-120; reference to, 410, 411 
State Central Committee, work as 

chairman of, 100. 116 
State debt, lack of limitation on, 
48; amount of, in Ohio. 48; 
need for limit on. 58; plan for 
payment of. 60. 61. 399 
State Fair, address at, 372 
States, relation of, to Federal gov- 
ernment, 150; use of United 
States army in, 350-355 
Statutes, revision of. 54 
Stewart, James, 29 
Stewart, John. 360 
Stockton. L. D., 170 
Stone, George A., 297 
Stone, J. C, letter from. 355 
Stone, John Y., 334 
Stone, William M., service of 
Kirkwood in campaign of, 285- 
289; letter from, 288, 289; in- 
auguration of. 290; reference 
to. 302. 308; question of ap- 
pointment by, 303-306 
Store, purchase of, 82 ; sale of, 

120: keening of. 404 
Sturees. Solomon, offer of. 423 
Sumner, Charles, conflict between 
Kirkwood and. 315, 316; refer- 
ence to. 325 
Superintendent of Public Instruc- 
tion. 96 



INDEX 



463 



Supervisors, county, 192 
Supplies, appeal for, 235 
Surgeons, need of, 219, 223 
Susquehanna River, 1 

Tacoma (Washington), speech at, 
373, 374; reference to, 444 

Tally, George C, Copperheads led 
by, 270; death of, 271 

Tallv War, incidents of, 270-275, 
277, 278 

Tariff, views on, 314, 315 

Tariff commission, 355, 371 

Tavern, employment of Kirkwood 
in. 25 

Tax titles, 221, 336 

Taxation, 49, 53 ; exemption from, 
58; views of Kirkwood concern- 
ing, 68, 69; recommendations 
concerning, 220, 221, 222 

Taxes, levy of, 53, 54, 68; diffi- 
culty in payment of, 147, 148; 
appeal for prompt payment of, 
215; amount of, delinquent, 
220, 221; penalty for non-pay- 
ment of, 221; apportionment of, 
222 ; voting of, for railroad, 
323, 324 

Taylor, Zacharv, 397 

Teale, Fred A., 346 

Teesdale, John, statement by, 127, 
130, 132 

Teller, Henry M., 349 ; appoint- 
ment of, 369; letter from, 371, 
373 

Temperance question, attitude to- 
ward, 337, 338 

Templin, J. D., campaign between 
Kirkwood and, 90. 91 

Territories, slavery in, 173, 174 

Test, James D., 98 

Testimony, giving of. 97 

Teter, I." P., 334 

Thanksgiving Day proclamation, 
171 

Thompson, William G.. letter to. 
284; reference to, 382; re- 
marks by. 384 

Thompson, W. H., 212 

Thurman, Allen G.. 349 

Tichenor. George C, letter from, 
316, 317 

Tipton, 141. 408 

Todhunter, Lewis, Kirkwood nom- 
inated bv, 126 

Toledo. 142, 408 

Toll, Charles H.. 324 

Transportation facilities, 48 

Trent affair, 228 

Trimble. H. H., 91: amendment 
by. 95; statement bv. 115 

Troops, call for. 179, 180; raising 



of, 182-135, 215, 218, 222, 230- 
234, 260, 261, 428; difficulty 
in securing arms for, 186-188, 
206-209; expenses of raising 
first, 190, 191, 202, 203; meth- 
od of calling for, 217; praise 
of, 289 

Trumbull, Lyman, 321 

Trumbull, General, 332 

Trustees of State University, 
Board of. 96 ; Kirkwood a mem- 
ber of, 99 

Tufts, J. Q., 334 

Turkey, visitor from, 70 ; offer of 
mission to, 327 

Tuttle, James M., 242, 285, 288 

Udell, Nathan, letter to, 268 

Uniforms, making of, 186 

Union, need of preservation of, 

174, 175, 176; fear for safety 

of, 247 ; loyalty of Kirkwood to, 

292, 295, 296 
Union Pacific Railroad, 444 
Union party, formation of, 199 
Uniontown (Pennsylvania), 15 
University funds, protection of, 

223 
University of Iowa, State, 81, 98, 

99, 147; proposed location of, 

97; appropriation for, 109; 

military professorship at, 223 
Utah, 95 
Ute Indians, council with, 364 

Vance, Joseph, 50 

Vandever, William, 180. 181 

Vegetables, appeal for, 235 

Veto messages, 163 

Veto power, 56 

Vice President, Kirkwood suggest- 
ed for, 164 

Vicksburg. 239, 300 

A'inton, 142, 408 

Vinton Eagle, 124 

Virginia, requisition for Coppoc 
from Governor of, 155-162 ; 
peace conference called by, 174 

"\'olunteers, compensation of, 191; 
plan for raising of, 191, 192; 
support of families of, 192. 
194; expenses of raising first, 
202, 203 (see also Troops) 

Wallace, Mrs., marriage of Jabez 

Kirkwood and. 3 
Wapello. 141. 408 
Wapello County, 271 
War, attitude of Kirkwood toward 

conduct of. 188. 247, 293-296 
War and Defense Fund. 194, 207 
War Democrats, 200 



464 



INDEX 



War of 1812, 34 

Warrants, amount of, unpaid, 221 

Warren, Pitz Henry, 129, 197, 
284, 308, 422 

Washburne, Governor, letter to, 
427 

Washington, George, 150 

Washington, D. C, 1, 13, 40, 174, 
177, 187, 209, 226, 247, 298; 
school days of Kirkwood in, 5- 
7 ; Kirkwood as drug clerk in, 
7-9; trip to, 179; conference of 
Governors at, 249-252 ; resi- 
dence of Kirkwood in, 311, 314, 
349; life of Kirkwoods in, 356, 
368, 369; purchase of home in, 
367; statue of Kirkwood in, 
445 

Washington (Iowa), joint debate 
at, 139-141; reference to, 274, 
314, 408 

Washington County (Iowa), 272 

Washington County (Pennsylva- 
nia), 15 

Washington Light Guards, 176 

Waterloo, 142 

Waukon, 142 

Weaver, James B., 136, 333, 335, 
376; prospects of, for Governor, 
330, 331; defeat of, for nomi- 
nation, 331-335 

Weed, Chester, 119 

West, removal of Kirkwoods to, 
11-18; financial depression in, 
117; influence of, 373, 374 

West Union, 103; speech at, 435 

West Virginia, 15 

Western Stage Company, 105 

Wheat, marketing of, 20 

Wheeler & Wilson sewing ma- 
chine, 419 

Wheeling (West Virginia), 14, 
16, 17 



Whig party, 168 

White, Abe, 138 

Wide Awakes, 167 

Wild cat banks, 117 

Williamsburg, speech at, 167 

Williams College, 366 

Williamson, James A., 382 

Wilmot Proviso, 28 

Wilson, David S., 108 

Wilson, James P., 108; letter 
from, 124 ; resolution by, 159, 
160 

Wilson, Jonathan, conveyance pro- 
vided by. 139 

Wilson, William Duane, letter 
from, 171, 172; letter to, 284, 
287 

Wilson's Creek, battle of, 204, 216 

Withrow, Thomas F., letter to, 285 

Woman suffrage, attitude on, 336 

Women, service of, at outbreak of 
war, 186, 187; work of, in 
fields, 231; enumeration of, 311 

Wood, Bradford R., 434 

Woodbury County, 83. 163 

Woodin, George D., 100 

Woolson, John S., 346 

Wooster (Ohio). 17 

Wright, Ed., 334, 335 

Wright, George G. 123, 146. 170, 
326, 328, 334, 341, 382; re- 
marks bv, 382-384; career of, 
418 

Yates. Governor, 177 

Yewell, George H., portrait by, 

386 
York County (Pennsylvania), 8 
Youghiogheny River. 15 
Young Men's Mercantile Library 

Association, 67 

Zanesville (Ohio), 17 




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